The Origin of PONARI SWEAT by Hillman

Believe it or not ????

Some Indonesian phenomenon. No need logical involvement to solve many kind of healthy problems. Just Sugestion, --blowed up by news mass media, of 'course--. Making money & increasing neigbourhood economical activities.

Let's find out how many news center report the real result of that "stonned water"......

----JAKARTA GLOBE----

News / National / Article
Nivell Rayda

‘Ponari Sweat’ Magic Blasted As Ignorance and Exploitation

Medical, sociological and religious experts separately expressed their condemnation of a child mystic phenomenon and called on the government to take action to protect the child’s rights and better educate the public.
Thousands of people, some from as far as the island of Kalimantan, have been gathering outside the house of Muhammad Ponari, a child believed to have mystical healing powers, in Jombang, East Java Province for more than a month.
People believe that they can be healed by drinking water into which the nine-year-old boy has dipped a magic stone. He is said to have found the stone on his head after he was struck by lightning.
Patients, some with terminal diseases, wait for days and pay millions of rupiah for the magical water dubbed “Ponari Sweat,” a play on the name of popular isotonic drink Pocari Sweat.
One of the patients, Dimas, aged three-and-a-half, died on Wednesday after the treatment was unable to save him. He was quickly rushed to a hospital but doctors were unable to save the young child’s life.
Four other people have died after they were crushed in stampedes to see Ponari.
Kartono Muhammad, a medical expert and former chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association, said that the phenomenon can be explained as the Indonesian mentality of wanting quick results with the smallest amount of effort.
“Not only in villages do we see this phenomenon, but also in big cities,” Kartono said. “People who want to be healed quickly go to a shaman. People who want to get rich, they also go to a shaman.”
“Rich or poor has nothing to do with it. These people pay millions and travel across the country. It’s like these people don’t use their common sense so they are easily persuaded by promises and quick-fix solutions.”
A social expert from University Darul Ulum in Jombang told state run Antara news agency that Indonesians were caught up in a romanticized mysticism, causing a belief in the irrational.
“Indonesian legends and myths all say that power and success are not acquired through rigorous struggle and effort,” he said. “Traditionally, powers are gained by chance or bestowed upon them via acts of faith.
“Years of tradition have embedded the concept in people’s subconscious. So modern treatment, where we endure physical pain and struggle, is not a very acceptable concept in the back of people’s minds.”
Salahuddin Wahid, one of the leaders of the country’s largest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama, or NU, said that the phenomenon could be considered as worshipping something other than God, the most serious sin in Islam.
“If you believe that a stone can cure you then you are a sinner,” Salahuddin said. “Health comes from God so you should pray to Him and not to the boy.”
The government, Kartono said, must put a stop to the strange behavior. “The government must improve the health system so that it’s accessible for all,” he said. “If we do that, then people’s faith in modern medical treatment shall be restored.
“The government should also protect the child’s rights by allowing him to return to school. Right now, Ponari is being exploited by his parents and villagers for money.”

this is what IDI says :

1. Meminta semua pihak khususnya media masa untuk menghentikan pemberitaan/tayangan yang bersifat penyebarluasan segala cara pengobatan yang tidak sesuai dengan kaidah ilmu kedokteran.

2. Menginstruksikan kepada semua Anggota Ikatan Dokter Indonesia (IDI) untuk tidak membantu, memfasilitasi segala cara pengobatan yang belum terbukti secara ilmiah (belum terdapat bukti ilmiah yang cukup kuat dari sudut pandang ilmu kedokteran)

3. Meminta pemerintah c.q. Departemen Kesehatan Republik Indonesia untuk menertibkan semua cara pengobatan yang tidak sesuai dengan kaidah ilmu kedokteran sesuai dengan peraturan perundang-undangan yang berlaku.

4. Meminta kepada semua pihak untuk memanfaatkan sebaik-baiknya fasilitas kesehatan yang telah tersedia di seluruh Indonesia berupa: Balai Pengobatan, Puskesmas, Praktik Dokter Swasta, Rumah Sakit Negeri maupun Swasta.

5. Meminta kepada seluruh masyarakat untuk waspada dan tidak mudah terbujuk dengan berbagai pengobatan yang irasional, takhyul, coba-coba, memberi harapan/mukjizat palsu dan meminta petunjuk/nasihat kepada dokter terdekat atau petugas kesehatan resmi (Puskesmas, Dinas Kesehatan Kota/Kabupaten/Propinsi) bilamana menemui hal-hal di atas.