complementary (not alternative) medicine.

My boyfriend has been performing solat hajat for the past few days at his friend's house because his friend's sister, N is suspected to be possessed.

N works in Pekan, Pahang, when suddenly one night, she screamed. Her housemates called N's parents and they came to see her. N seemed to be fine so her parents left. Her condition deteriorates as she keeps screaming at night and has difficulties to sleep. N's parents then fetched her to return to their hometown.

N hadn't been really sleeping for three days. She can't sit in her house, always wanting to go outside. The whole family is convinced she is under a spell of an evil man.

After two days, they started to host solat hajat beramai-ramai. No improvement what-so-ever. N's eyes are red and deep, a result from lack of sleep and probably, lack of food too. During the whole ritual, she just stared into space. Empty.

When my boyfriend told me about N, I felt pity for her. I thought they had tried everything but nothing worked. Little did I know, they haven't even brought her to see a doctor yet!

I told my boyfriend, the best thing now is to bring N to the hospital. At least the doctor could give her sleeping pills. She needs her rest and at the same time, the doctors could run some tests on her.

"I will advice my friend on this. She hasn't slept for five days now, and she is now wearing diapers," was my boyfriend's update on N.

A couple hours after that, my boyfriend sent me an SMS, "N is screaming, she is out of control. We had to insert a spoon into her mouth. They are now calling the bomoh (witchdoctor)."

Of course you have to protect her from biting her own tounge. Why can't they just bring her to the hospital?

I was still patient, I replied, "Kalau lemah semangat, jangan tengok."

Then, my boyfriend gave another SMS, "Berbuih mulut dia."

That started me to give a long speech, "Kenapa tak bawa jumpa doktor? Bawalah jumpa doktor! Mana tahu there's something wrong with her brain that makes her lose control of her own body! Let the doctors run tests on her. At least she could get her sleep! Doktor boleh bagi dia ubat penenang. I bukan tak percaya benda-benda buatan orang ni, tapi dah berapa hari buat solat hajat, tak jadi apa kan? Maksudnya, mesti ada sebab lain. Kalau N ada dekat hospital, still boleh buat solat hajat kan! I bukan marah nak panggil bomoh, tapi asyik-asyik doa saja! Ini bukan caranya! Kena ada usaha juga! Nak tunggu dia mati dulu baru nak bawa jumpa doktor? Dengan tak stabil macam ni, nutrient pun tak cukup, apa susah bawa pergi hospital!"

I wish I was there to put some senses into the family!

"Susah, sayang, cakap dengan orang kampung..." my boyfriend said.

I was angry. I felt like slapping her family members and abduct N myself and bring her to the hospital. But I was not there.

I can't believe my boyfriend's friend allow this to happen. He is well educated. "Esok, kalau tak pulih, baru bawa jumpa doktor," he said.

Wah, wah, wah...Sia-sia je kalau esok, jumpa doktor, there is an actual medical reason behind all these. There are many conditions that could lead to interruption to the brain, not just, "Terkena buatan orang."

Ah, I pula yang emotional dan sakit hati.