The exorcism at Haron's busy faith healing clinic on the
outskirts of the Malaysian capital lasted for about a minute. The woman slammed
her fists repeatedly on her lap and finally wept in submission.
Faith healing continues to find favor in this mainly
Muslim country, underscoring the tension between tradition and modernity in
Malaysia, a melting pot of Asian cultures with a long history of alternative
medicine.
Though uncommon, the continued use of exorcists and
bomoh, or faith healers, has in part led the government to draft a law to
regulate practitioners of traditional and complementary medicine.
"Because our people use it, we felt the need for
control to prevent abuse and ensure that practitioners are qualified,"
said Dr. Ramli Abdul Ghani, head of Traditional and Complementary Medicine at
Malaysia's Ministry of Health.
The Traditional and Complementary Medicine Bill, to be
tabled in Parliament next year, will require the country's 11,000 practitioners
in fields ranging from acupuncture to homeopathy to register with and obtain
practicing licenses from the ministry.
Faith healers will also be subject to guidelines jointly
drawn up by the country's Islamic Development Department and recognized
practitioner bodies including Haron's clinic.
"Many faith healers claim to conduct treatments when
they in fact are going against Islam, so we need the mechanism to control the
practitioners," said Haron, 70, whose clinic draws up to 250 people a day.
There have been a steady number of complaints of cheats
while others offer amulets, spells and curses using black magic, which is
forbidden by Islam.
