As the search for a jetliner that mysteriously vanished continued on Wednesday, a well-known witch doctor was invited to perform a ritual to 'call back' the flight.
In the Kuala Lumpur international Airport (KLIA), a Malaysian shaman, Ibrahim Mat Zin, performed a ritual using a fish hook and bamboo binoculars to 'locate' the missing plane.
The search for the Boeing 777-200 aircraft has now expanded to a land and sea area stretching from China to the Andaman Sea, Malaysia's west coast, as Malaysian authorities said the aircraft may have made a "turnback".
Chinese internet users have mocked reports that the Malaysian government invited a witch doctor to help look for the missing plane.
As Ibrahim said that his vision turned black and he believed the plane was either still in the air or had crashed in the sea.
Cynical weibo users ridiculed the conclusion. "Wow, that is exactly what I think too," one wrote, a sentiment shared by many.
One user who claimed to be Malaysian wrote: "I feel so ashamed as a Malaysian for the first time, not because of any wrongdoing on Malaysia's part but for having a brainless prime minister. Stop losing Malaysia's face!"
Many expressed astonishment that spiritual methods were being considered in the hunt for the plane as the operation entered its fifth day.
"China deployed 10 satellites, Malaysia deployed a few witch doctors," another user pointed out.
Jamil Khir from the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department had earlier said the government welcomed any help in tracing flight MH370, including from bomohs, as long as their methods did not contravene the practices of Islam.
Muslims make up more than half of Malaysia's population of 22.7 million people. Bomohs are respected for their spiritual power by many in the country.
The Raja Bomoh, who has been practising for 50 years, rose to fame after offering his services in the search for victims in several major disasters in Malaysia.
It is not unusual in parts of Malaysia for politicians to turn to shamans.
Last Words of Malaysian Airplane Pilot
The last words of the pilot from the missing flight MH370 have been revealed for the first time at a meeting between the Malaysian government and Chinese relatives in Beijing.
An experienced pilot Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah, who had logged close to 20,000 flight hours, spoke in response to Malaysian air traffic controllers who had informed the cockpit that they were now entering Vietnamese airspace and that air traffic controllers from the capital Ho Chi Minh City were taking over.
He concluded: “Alright, good night.”
At the same meeting on Wednesday morning, one relative, who is acting as the families’ representative told Malaysian and Chinese officials that the families are angry with the Malaysian government’s “delayed and un-transparent” rescue efforts.
Experts from 12 countries are now searching 27,000 nautical square miles for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, with officials stressing on Wednesday that no answers could be given until the plane’s black box is found.
