In search of Mona Fandey

IT may have been 20 years but the memory of infamous murderer Mona Fandey lives on.

Since her death in 2001, many have visited her grave to perform rituals to seek “lucky numbers”.

Even her home in Ulu Dong, Raub, which was where she murdered Batu Talam assemblyman Datuk Mazlan Idris in 1993, has become a place of worship for mediums and black magic practitioners, reported Metro Ahad.

According to undertaker Azizi Jamil, 49, individuals have offered him up to RM500 to show them exactly where Mona Fandey's grave is.

“They usually come as early as 8am or 9am and ask where her grave is. I do not show them unless they identify themselves and are her relatives or acquaintances,” he said, adding that he had turned many people away, fearing that they were up to some sort of black magic.

Till this day, he said, Mona Fandey's grave still gets at least three visitors a month.

“Some are straightforward about it and tell me that they are seeking lucky numbers to bet on,” he said.

Mona Fandey was a self-styled bomoh who lured Mazlan with promises of, presumably, political invincibility through the use of black magic.

> Metro Ahad also reported the plight of 60-year-old Mariam Abdul Rahman, who is still holding on to the hope of meeting her true love.

“I may not be beautiful like other women, but deep inside, I still want to experience marriage like every other woman,” she said at an old folks home in Gombak.

Mariam, who has never fallen in love or been married before, said she was looking for a widower who would be willing to accept her.

“He does not have to be handsome. He just has to be a responsible man who is willing to accept me as I am,” she said.

During her younger days, she had not been ready for love as she had been busy working.

“I was not sociable like my friends. At that time it was all about my family and work. After all my siblings got married, I was sent here because everyone is now too busy with their own lives to take care of me,” she said.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.