Malaysia recruits witch doctors to find missing Boeing passenger jet

Ibrahim Mat Zin, famous shaman called ‘king of the witch doctors’ performs ritual at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Reports say he was invited by government officials.

Using props including coconuts, Malaysian witch doctor Ibrahim Mat Zin, center, chants and prays for guidance in finding Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The display at Kuala Lumpur International Airport made the country look ‘stupid,’ one politician told parliament.

Malaysian officials, already struggling with their public images after a jetliner with 239 people on board went missing, have been further embarrassed after a team of witch doctors performed rituals at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to find the missing Boeing 777.
"Can't you see how stupid we look in the eyes of the world?" Datuk Seri Anwar, the country's opposition leader, asked parliament on Thursday, according to the Malay Mail. 

Video after the cut

  

"All the contradicting statements, our slow response. Our credibility and image have been shattered, destroyed," Anwar said.
Ibrahim Mat Zin, also known as the Raja Bomoh Sedunia Nujum VIP, led a spectacle of sorts on Monday when he performed bomoh, or shaman, rituals at the international airport, in full view of dozens of reporters from around the world who've descended on the Malaysian capital since the plane disappeared Saturday on its way to Beijing.

 

Ibrahim Mat Zin, third from left, a well-known ‘bomoh,’ or shaman, arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport to perform witch doctor rituals to help find missing passenger plane that vanished nearly a week ago.

The performance was reportedly requested by government members, according to the South China Morning Post.

Using bamboo as "binoculars" and smacking the ground, Zin and others performed rituals that included a flying carpet and a magic boat.
Photos and videos of Monday's event drew ridicule on the Internet, especially from Chinese users. Most of those aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 were from China or Taiwan.

Zin said the doomed flight was in "alam bunian" a Malayan description for the spiritual world, the Malay Mail said.
"I think the plane is still in the air or has crashed into the sea," he was quoted in Free Malaysia Today.