Fearsome 4some: Msias most notorious
wanted their help to achieve his goal.
criminals
Mona Fandey - The Infamous
Witch Doctor and Murderer
Young Maznah yearned for fame though initially, not
through dabbling in the occult. At a young age, she began singing and
dancing (even doing water ballet), driven by dreams of pop stardom.
She married her biggest fan, Mohamad Nor Affandi Abdul Rahman
(who promised to help fund her quest) and adopted the stage name
Mona Fandey, inspired by her husbands pet moniker.
The duo explored all avenues to launch Monas showbiz career
and propagate her image, including producing and releasing an
album titled Diana (possibly named after her step-daughter,
Mazdiana Affandi) as well as making several TV appearances (a
1987 music video can be viewed here: Ratapan Anak by Mona
Fandey). But their efforts came to naught, and Mona wisely
abandoned her pursuit by the close of the decade.
Still hungry for fame (and its attendant power and money), Mona
and Affandi made the unusual career change to spiritual witchcraft,
earning a living from being shamans. With this, they hit the
jackpot as they were somehow able to attract an elite, upper-class
clientele, who shelled out big money and privileges for the duos
services. Mona even bragged of having supplied numerous senior
politicians in the ruling party with myriad charms and talismans.
The couple became so successful, they were able to purchase
mansions in different states and a small fleet of luxury cars.
Things went famously criminal in 1993 when the duo was
approached by rising Umno star, Pahang state assemblyman
Mazlan Idris, who had an eye on the Chief Minister post and
A deal was struck: the couple offered Mazlan a
magic tongkat and songkok, supposedly owned by former
Indonesian strongman President Sukarno, which would make him
invincible. The cost: RM2.5 million. Mazlan would pay the
couple RM500,000 as a deposit and 10 land titles as guarantee for
the remaining RM2 million.
Shortly after the initial transaction, a black magic cleansing ritual
was arranged at Monas house near Raub, Pahang. The ceremony
was attended by the couple, Mazlan, and Monas assistant, Juraimi
Hassan. The ritual began with Mazlan being asked to lie on the
floor and close his eyes but the event took an even weirder turn
when Juraimi chopped the politicians head off with an axe. The
trio then dismembered and partially-skinned the body (some parts
were never found and are thought to have been eaten).
Mazlan had been missing for two weeks before a report over his
disappearance was lodged (only because he had failed to turn up
for several Umno functions). Meanwhile, Mona went shopping,
purchasing a Mercedes-Benz and a facelift.
There were no leads on the case until Juraimi was apprehended
over an unrelated drug offense. Possibly while high, he confessed
to Mazlans murder (which he had not been linked to) and led
police to a storeroom near Monas house, where Mazlans body
had been buried in 18 different parts. Mona and Affandi were
apprehended soon after.
The 1995 trial was a sensation, and Mona perversely revelled
being in the spotlight. Far from shielding her face from cameras,
she sought them out, flashing canyon-wide smiles to the media
while modeling funky and colourful ensembles. She bathed in the
attention and cheerfully remarked to the press: I appear to have
many fans. In the most warped way, Mona had finally achieved
what she always craved: fame and she was beside herself.
Mona, Affandi and Juraimi were all found guilty and sentenced by
the High Court to death by hanging. The trial had been so
turbulent and dramatic that it contributed to the governments
decision to discontinue Malaysias trial-by-jury system shortly
after.
In late 2001, the trio was given a last meal of KFC the night before
their execution. As Mona was led to the gallows of Kajang Prison,
she smiled and calmly stated: I will never die. (In a way, this
article is proof of that).
Two of Monas abandoned mansions one in Section 12, Shah
Alam (known as the Aeroplane Bungalow because of its strange
architecture) and another near Raub, Pahang (which reportedly has
no windows) still stand, and are must-visits among ghosthunters,
several of whom have revealed encountering strange phenomena
during their excursions there.