Fright nights for villagers after ‘Big Foot’ sightings

Compiled by RAHIMY RAHIM and NG SI HOOI

RESIDENTS of a village in Bachok, Kelantan, are having restless nights after sightings of a mysterious animal, said to be a “Big Foot” of sorts, in their vicinity.

The creature, apparently, would call out their names at dusk, Sinar Harian reported, and those who unknowingly responded to the call would have a fever for weeks.

As a result, most of the villagers would not venture out of their homes at night.

These fright nights started when a resident, Zubaidah Abdullah, 50, claimed that she frequently dreamt about two six-foot monkey-like creatures which would come out of a big tree behind her mother’s house.

“I was shocked that I could communicate with them. Sometimes I felt like they were sleeping next to me,” she said, adding that she would then recite religious verses to chase them away.

Her other siblings also had the same experience.

The services of a spiritual healer have been sought to deal with the situation.

> For years, 52-year-old Rosidi Hasan has been diligently taking care of his elderly mother and a disabled brother, Harian Metro reported.

Despite having his own family to care for, Rosidi has not neglected his mother, now 80, and his elder brother who suffers mental problems besides being paralysed from the waist down.

It is a sad tale of a family who lives in Butterworth with very limited means.

Rosidi said his 54-year-old brother was once an army officer but quit the force in 1986 due to his illness.

“He received regular treatments at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Perak,” said Rosidi.

“Later, he had a fall, resulting in him slipping into a coma for two weeks.”

His brother’s wife and children left him after that, Rosidi added.

These days, Rosidi prepares food for his mother and bro­ther, besides bathing them.

“My brother’s pension of RM227 a month is not enough to buy food, diapers and other basic stuff,” he said.

Pusat Zakat Negri Pulau Pinang was processing their application for financial assistance, he added.

Happy and single: Tan recently broke up with her boyfriend.

> Singer Elizabeth Tan has no problem dating Malay men, reported Sensasi Bin­tang, a pullout in Kosmo!

“For me, it does not matter who the person is. It will become a pro­blem only when we do not understand one another and fail to communicate properly.

“I work in an industry where there are many Ma­­lays and I have many Malay friends who respect other races,” said Tan, 24.

She also spoke about breaking up with someone after dating for four months.

“We broke up because of several issues but I have learnt a lot,” she said.

Found in translation 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.