CASE STUDY

ANIMISM IN MALAYSIA

Putti and Chia (1990) describe the belief of many Chinese and Malays in Malaysia of the spirit Datuk-kong, the spirit of a kind man who has chosen to stay in this world and who inhabits an old tree or a rock. The spirit first makes its existence known through revealing himself in a dream of a needy person. News spreads by word of mouth. It is this local deity that people turn to when they are in need, and he looks after the well-being of the local people and their fortunes. If anybody were to remove the rock or tree in which the Datuk-kong lives, the offending person would be punished by the spirit.

Following several years studying in the UK and USA, Yahya Ibrahim returns to Kuala Lumpur to pursue a career in engineering. He quickly gains success in the government controlled manufacturing industry, and after a few years is appointed general manager of Intronics, a small electrical motors assembling factory in Port Dickson, some 100km from the capital.

The outgoing general manager had run the company in a laisser-faire manner, and Yahya considered discipline to be poor and the factory generally in a mess. The factory layout was inefficient and machinery was old. Workers would trickle in well after 8.00 a.m. and very few of the managers were at their desks at this time. As he left the factory the first evening he noticed that an old tree just outside the main gate was obscuring the view of drivers as they left the factory.

The next morning he called a meeting of the managers and announced several far reaching changes which would turn the present old fashioned company into a model factory of the future. He would hold regular Friday morning meetings with all managers. A 'clocking-in' machine was ordered to improve time-keeping. The production manager, and Lim the engineering manager and deputy to Yahya were asked to work on a plan to re-lay the production lines. Similar changes were made elsewhere. Whilst there were some stifled protests, the workers (who were un-unionized) generally went along with the changes and production rose.

After six months, in the scheduled managers meeting Yahya said that he wanted the 'eyesore' of a tree outside the main gate removed as it obstructs the view of drivers, and could Lim, the engineering manager organize this.

Lim retorted that he must be mad thinking about removing the Batuk-kong tree, containing the spirit who looks after the well-being of the factory. Yahya became angry saying that this was superstitious nonsense. To this Lim replied that it was no such thing, that the daughter of Hassan, the materials manager, was struck down with fever which the doctors could not cure. He prayed to the Datuk-kong and his daughter recovered immediately. Hassan confirmed this.

But Yahya became more angry, demanding that the tree should be got rid of by the next meeting, a week hence.

Lim refused to have the tree removed for several weeks, with the tacit concurrence of the work-force. When Yahya told him to comply or resign, Lim got outside help as nobody in the factory would do the job. He prayed to the Datuk-kong explaining that it was not his decision, but he needed the job to support his family.

Soon after a woman worker fell sick for a week. She recovered, but there was a rumor circulating the factory that in a dream she had tried to pray to the Datuk-kong, but it was no longer around. Sick leave rose. There was a belief that one of the toilets had become haunted and people did not like using it. Of course, these occurrences were all attributed to the Datuk-kong by the factory workers.

Four months after, Lim resigned, as did another thirteen workers who had all been recruited by a rival factory which had started up in the area. Yahya knew that this was the beginning of an exodus and that something had to be done.

Discussion: What can be done? What should have been done? Was Yahya clearly wrong for destroying the tree?

(Sources: Putti and Chia, 1990).