Poor personal hygiene, lack of faith in Allah possible causes of mass hysteria - Expert

Following the hysteria incident at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pengkalan Chepa 2 (SMKPC2) here, a team of Islamic spiritual healer and bomohs (shaman) have been summoned to get rid of spirits said to have possessed its students and teachers, recently.

One of the medicine men, Datuk Seri Baharudin Abu caught the attention of observers and Press members who were at the scene, thanks to his distinctive treatment technique.

When other practitioners were focused on the school and its premises, Baharudin boldly took a different approach. He ventured into the victim's home during his treatment.

According to him, hysteria is closely linked to poor personal hygiene and if it was neglected, the victim would be susceptible to being overpowered by the otherworldly entities.

“I went to the victim’s home as my approach was more focused on the individual, not the school, as hysteria is not influenced by the environment but rather the individuals themselves.

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“The cause of it is attributed to personal hygiene and lacked of faith in Allah.

Empower the soul

“When the soul is empty, spirits would enter the body,” said Baharudin.

Baharudin who is the founder of Al-Qalam Islamic Medicine Centre also adviced the victims to constantly opt to cleanse themselves with ablution, reading Al-Quran and be closer to Allah.

For Form 2 student of SMKPC2, Asma Raihan Rahimi, she felt more comfortable after being treated by Baharudin.

Asma, who was the first crop of students who were possessed at the school hoped that he would be free from being possessed.

“It felt heavy … body was in pain … now it is lighter … more peaceful,” said Asma Raihan when met by Astro AWANI here today.

The student also said that she was one of the 50 students who were possessed in the April 12 incident.

The mass hysteria hit three schools in Kelantan two weeks ago, affecting over 100 pupils and teachers.

The rare phenomenon had been largely attributed to the presence of spirits, with some students claiming to have seen several dark apparitions.

Claims of these paranormal sightings have understandably elicited a series of responses from several quarters including social media users.

Since news about the incident broke, Pengkalan Chepa had been under the spotlight, attracting medicine men and bomohs from Malaysia and Thailand.