The return of Captain Latib Keroh of Tanjung Dawai.

"Do you know that I believe in being possessed by a spirit?" this friend asked me.
"How's that so?" I inquired with curiosity.

"Well it happened during my childhood days in Tanjung Dawai, Kedah, Malaysia. I was about ten years old when I witnessed a man possessed by a spirit. And this isn't any cock and bull story. It's a true story. I can vouch for it." He nodded his head vigorously as he stressed that it was the truth for he was a witness to what happened when the possessed fisherman was brought back to the beach of Tanjung Dawai.

This is his story:

It was in the evening, about six o'clock when a boat with a few fishermen tied up their boat and pulled and dragged their friend out of the boat onto the beach. This friend was tied with a rope and the reason given was that this friend would struggle frantically and talked gibberish. He was talking in a strange language none of them could understand. He sounded like an Englishman or an European. At that age I could neither understand nor know the difference. To ensure his as well as their safety in the boat, they had no alternative but to tie him up.

I had seen that tied up fisherman's walk and behaviour before as he was a familiar figure on the beach in Tanjung Dawai. That evening, his voice was not similar to his; it being hoarser and louder than his. The manner he carried himself and walked was different too. He moved as one holding some kind of authority and the way his shoulders swung as he strode forward could be described as swaggering.

Then, he gave himself a name, "I'm Captain Latib(possibly 'Latif') Keroh." It sounded like a Malay name but he certainly did not talk in Malay. Not during the first part of that encounter anyway. Was it a Malay name or did our ears associate the sounds of an English name with Malay equivalent sounds?

Then, suddenly, he surprised us with "Lu mau harta? Ada harta. (You want treasure? Have treasure.)"

All those people of Tanjung Dawai who had gathered to watch the incident were interested and went closer to listen to whatever revelation there could be. There were told the conditions for finding the treasure. A goat had to be slaughtered and offered to him. Then, only one person, the one who wanted the treasure, would have to follow him back to the island where he came from, to be shown the treasure.

Upon being told that only one person is allowed to follow him back to one of the islands near Tanjung Dawai, none dared to speak, none was brave enough to go for the treasure. If the spirit of Captain Latib had allowed three or four, perhaps there would have been takers of such a venture to look for treasure. One? No dice. Nobody was game for it.

Eventually, the spirit of Captain Latib said,"If you don't want the treasure, then I am going back." With that, the tied up fisherman fell forward onto his hands and face. When he came to, he looked in astonishment at the crowd gathered around him. He wondered what had transpired and upon being told about the spirit that had taken over his body, he was shocked for some time.

Accoding to this friend who told the story, anyone his age or slightly older would know the story of Captain Latib Keroh. This friend is forty-nine years old.

So, believe it or not, there is such a thing as possession by spirits.In fact I had witness another case in a school I taught where each time it happened, the bomoh (the local spiritual medicine-man)would have to chant and pray to persuade the spirit to leave the victims in peace. Among the Malays, it was and still is quite common although Islam, the religion of the Malays, does not accept the existence of such spirits.

I have seen it happen. So have quite a number of other people. Some think they are merely a creation of the mind. If you are lucky,witness such a happening and realise the truth. Truth is certainly sometimes stranger than fiction.