Malaysian shaman pitches in to find missing plane

Malaysian well-known shaman Ibrahim Mat Zin, bottom right, uses spiritual methods and prayers to locate the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. The missing Malaysian jetliner may have attempted to turn back before it vanished from radar, but there is no evidence it reached the Strait of Malacca, Malaysia’s air force chief said Wednesday, denying reported remarks he said otherwise. The statement suggested continued confusion over where the Boeing 777 might have ended up, more than four days after it disappeared en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board. AP

MANILA, Philippines – Things are getting desperate these past days for Malaysian authorities as they have now resorted to a “bomoh” or shaman to try and find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The shaman was allegedly hired by an unidentified top Malaysian official to help locate the Boeing 777 that carried 239 people, according to a report on the South China Morning Post but International Business Times (IBTimes) said the official did it on his own.

Photographs of Ibrahim Mat Zin, holding coconuts as part of the ritual, circulated social media on Wednesday, prompting netizens to criticize the move.

The shaman and his companions performed rituals and prayers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

IBTimes described one of the rituals that featured people sitting on a small carpet, the one on the front pretending to “row” with a stick and the one at the back carrying a coconut in each hand.

“The purpose of the rituals is to weaken the bad spirits so that the rescuers can find the plane if it indeed had crashed,” the shaman was quoted saying.

However, the move was greeted with speculation, if not laughter, by netizens.

Some Malaysian users on Twitter said the act brought shame to their country.

Chinese netizens also ridiculed the shaman’s actions, the same report from the South China Morning Post said.

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