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Acknowledgments
I could not have written this book without the two most important women in my life: my wife and my 18-year-old daughter. They have both supported me heartily in my writing. They would check my stories and would be the first to give valuable feedback. They encouraged me when I was down and made me copious amounts of coffee on demand!I am most grateful and continue to be indebted to the first or 'alpha' readers, which includes my ten-year-old son,...
Hello Again!
It gives me great pleasure to make this book 'Real Ghost Stories of Borneo 2' available to you. The first Real Ghost Stories of Borneo turned out to be quite popular, and I was compelled to write the second book, as there were a few stories that I could not include in the first book. In addition to that, I had several people who were keen to share their ghostly encounters.Most were personally interviewed by myself, whilst others sent in...
The Refuge of Love
My uncle Nas worked all his life in the oil and gas industry. He was one of those uncles I had considered as 'macho'. He had a long, thick mustache that somehow seemed to groom itself and he always projected himself as an immovable and undaunted character. I remember when I was 12, I had somehow asked him if he was afraid of anything. I didn't expect him to say yes... One evening in the 1980s, Nas had finished his grueling...
A Father's Daughter
By Amal (not her real name)The local female author of this story had chosen to remain anonymous for understandable reasons.This story is about my late father who passed away in 2016. The pain of losing him still aches to this day. I was always close to my father.You see, my father was a white 'magic' healer. He spent his life helping people and friends who had problems dealing with the supernatural. Growing up in the family, I myself was a...
Respect
Although he had been living in Brunei most of his life, Jon did not know much about his country. He had been busy with pursuing his studies all his life and never went out much. After graduating from the UK, he came back to Brunei and started work as a civil engineer. Jon was tall for a local man and he had Eurasian facial features, which made him stand out even more amongst his kinsmen. He had always wanted to...
The Joggers & The Hills
Nina and Nizam, both in their late 20s, were like the perfect pair. They were both good-looking and physically fit. You could say they were both fitness freaks. They would regularly exercise together in gyms and run together at the Stadium area, with matching designer sports outfits. They considered themselves as the modern Brunei yuppies. (Young Urban Professionals). There was no doubt that Nina, herself, was very beautiful, and she knew that. Nina also knew that her beauty and her health...
The Attack
Names have been changed to protect identities.Over 30 years ago, a soldier had gone missing in the jungles of Labi. He was missing for 23 days during a military training exercise. The Search and Rescue (SAR) mission was stopped after 14 days, as there were no traces found of the missing soldier. On the 23rd day, he was found under a house in a rural village in the next district, i.e. Tutong. I found out about this incident from my...
The Welcome
Wilhelm Bayona, also known as Mr. M, is an outgoing person. He loves making new friends and helping others in need. Mr. M is an Anime fan and is a model kit collector. He was a choir singer and acted in a theatre during his college days. Mr. M now spends his time thinking of ways to conquer the universe (in a fun and crazy way) before he retires. He currently works at the Mabohai shopping complex, where he manages...
Ride to Kuching
Yusof is a friend of mine who had joined the army after his A-levels instead of pursuing a university degree. He was one of those guys you knew would join the armed forces, as he was quite a tough guy and yet had a gentle heart. He was a keen sportsman and excelled during his time as an army cadet. Yusof was quite smart but felt he needed to belong to the 'family', i.e. the armed forces.Military training was tough...
1964
This story was shared by Luqman who; even to this day, is unaware that he is bound by his bitter past, and only he can choose to set himself free.It was the year 1964. Luqman was only 14 years old. Yet, he was very outgoing and adventurous. He had to be. He had to find any excuse to stay away from home as he had an abusive stepmother, who would beat him frequently and berate him for every little mistake...
Flash
Remember Zul in the previous book? Well, after reading this story, you are going to figure out that he is a kind of spiritual magnet.Zul, who is my mentor's nephew, lived near Junjungan village. They had a large house with a very large backyard. The jungle surrounded their house. Their nearest neighbour was a short drive away, but for Zul, it was a good excuse to use his bicycle and cycle to meet up with his neighbours.His neighbour's children cycled...
The Seru
Iswardy Morni is a good friend of mine whom I had first met in Southampton, United Kingdom. He was studying law whilst I was studying medicine at the University of Southampton. He hails from the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. We would usually jokingly remind ourselves that we are both from the same island (Borneo).Other than running successful businesses in the health safety sector, Iswardy continues to be a passionate activist. He is the president of an NGO called Warisan...
The Longhouse
I met a woman named Evon during a sales event. I was doing a book promotion event at a local shopping mall whilst she was helping to promote her insurance company's latest offer. Evon was a very fair-looking woman. Initially, I thought she was Chinese. She turned out to be an Iban from Temburong. She had a good look at my book and shared one of her encounters in Temburong.Evon still lives in Temburong, though now she commutes between Bandar...
Best Friends Forever
I knew Mrs. Z as she was my former Maths teacher in college. She decided to share this story with me after reading the first ghost stories book.Many years ago, Mrs. Z, her husband and her daughter Fifi were living at her parents' house in Panchor Papan village, Tutong. It was the good years when her daughter was closer to her grandparents.Mrs. Z began noticing that her 2-year-old daughter was always talking and playing by herself. At least, that was...
Tear in the Fabric
Dr. Zara is not just a family physician colleague, but she was also my mentor in Brunei. We share many common interests and values. She is a fellow writer and in many ways; we are both activists. It quite saddened me when she decided to leave Brunei and work in England, and yet I acknowledged it was very much a necessity for her.Recently she came back to Brunei, and she messaged me to meet up. We would talk about everything...
Mount Singai
One of my friends in Kuching had alerted me to the events unfolding in Sarawak in September 2018. A 22-year-old man, who was her husband's friend's employee, had been hiking up Mount Singai near Bau Town on his own and had been missing for a couple of days. Social media was abuzz with the search for the missing hiker.Sam (not his real name) a 22-year-old man, had meant to hike up the hill with his friend, Adam, on the 17th...
Intruder & The Conspiracy
Senior Nurse SJ was one guy I had not met for a very long time. Our moments when performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or cardiac arrest calls bonded us as though we were brothers in arms. Of course, this could just be how uniformed civilians create their self-images of bravado to boost a deflating morale.Anyway, I met him again when I decided to work part-time at the Accident & Emergency Department recently. I told him about my book, Real Ghost Stories...
Left Behind
A nurse friend of mine told me that when the private clinic had just moved to the new location (not disclosed), the staff had noticed strange happenings. The excitement of moving to a new place made everyone ignore the signs. However, the incidences became more frequent and harder to ignore.The first time it happened was during lunchtime. Usually, the staff nurses Yuna, Siti and Nurul would stay back. They would have their packed food and eat together during lunchtime, when...
Fisherman's Tale
Bob has been a mentor to me for many years, providing me with useful life advice. You can say he is the doctor's doctor. I would go to his house at night, though at other times, we would go to a swimming pool. In between laps, we would talk about life and our observations.I would also share with him about my interests, which included snorkeling. I was keen to bring him to Pelong rocks and the other snorkeling spots, but...
The Twins
Original story by Mr. M.It is very strange that once I had moved out of that haunted apartment, more information about the strange happenings at that apartment become known to me. From the moment I had moved out, new friends and acquaintances would readily share their experiences and stories at the haunted apartment. I wish I had known this information before moving in there. I definitely would have thought twice or thrice before moving in.Anyway, back to the story, after...
The Drive
Low, a Chinese man in his mid-forties, commuted frequently between Kota Kinabalu (KK) and Limbang. He was a farmer who would bring vegetables and farm goods from his small farm to the market and restaurants in Kota Kinabalu.A few years ago, his wife died, leaving him with his only son. Low lived with his mother. His mother had once dreamt that her son would die horribly in a car crash, which got her to constantly worry about Low's frequent trips....
The Crossing
I had met a middle-aged nurse who was working at a clinic in Kuala Belait town. She had shared her story with me but had wished to remain anonymous.It was back in the 1990s when she was still in her late 20s. Joanna (not her real name) was a bubbly single nurse who loved hanging around with her three girlfriends, who were also working in the same ward.When they were not working the same night shifts, they would usually go...
The Room
This story was contributed by Khadijah Marali, who is a 13-year-old student at SMPAPHM secondary school. She is a horror movie fan, who would always end up shouting at the television screen when one of the characters decides to go towards the source of the disturbance.In 2015, she had an encounter in Luagan Dudok village in Tutong whilst visiting her grandmother and her cousins.***I woke up feeling queasy. My eyes wandered towards the clock; 12:00 pm. I would always get...
The Keeper
I had known Rosnah, a middle-aged lady, for at least 10 years before I had left the government service. I loved seeing her as she seemed to have the latest social news or gossip in Tutong. I would tell my fellow doctor colleagues that I was simply collecting 'societal intelligence', which may or may not affect my clinical decisions! Surprisingly her insights (and gossips) were pretty accurate. Sometimes I wish I had done a study about 'social news networks.' Before...
Skylight
This story was contributed by Adrina Hj Mohd Agus Din, a passionate English teacher from Rimba 2 Secondary School.It was almost 'Maghrib' as I ushered my 2 children inside the house for bath time. They had been riding their bicycles for over an hour and I was optimistic they would both be tired enough for an early bedtime. Aden was three whilst Ayesha was one, and both were always a handful.My maid carried Ayesha in and I took Aden to...
The Shadow
This story was contributed and written by Nuuraaisyah Arman, a 13-year-old student at SMPAPHM secondary school . She loves to write and does artwork.Here's a story of my encounter.Rumors had it that the school was haunted. The school which I would not name was somewhere in Batu Satu in Bandar Seri Begawan. I used to study there. It was the year 2016. My friends and I were on our way to the back of the school. That place was our hangout...
The Car
Rashid would never forget the year 1986. It was the year the Space Shuttle Challenger (a spaceship for those who don't know) exploded. It was the year his youngest brother was born. It was the year his family had gotten that car.His father, Tamin, had bought a car, which was an Audi 90. It was a second-hand car, sold at a bargain price. It was an exciting feeling to have a German car. You could say the family felt privileged....
The Kem
In the late 80s, Paddy and his friends became involved in the family side business, which was setting up tents for functions. These function tents were nothing like the marquee or the trendy tents available now these days. The tents were large and were set up by aligning heavy steel frame brackets at the top to form a rectangular shape and a bare roof structure which was then covered by a heavy green tarpaulin. The sides of the tent structure...
The Calling
Azrin was 22 years old when his father decided he should take up some responsibility with the family business, which was a small restaurant cafe in Beribi. His father had intentionally challenged him by lamenting out loudly that his youngest son did not understand commitment and would find any excuse to get out of the new job. Azrin immediately knew he was being emotionally blackmailed. He now had to prove to his father that he could commit to a job...
The Fitting
Although I had no longer worked at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), I would stay in contact with my former colleagues, whom I considered as my brethren. We often exchanged stories of our work experiences. They were keen to hear what I was doing in my life as a family physician. The stark differences between our current careers frequently caused us to ponder upon the career choices we made. One story they shared with me was about a patient who...
The On-call Room
A few doctors who have had to work overnight at the hospital in Kuala Belait (KB) town shared with me their encounters with a particular 'on-call' room.The hospital doctors who are posted in KB town are usually expatriate doctors. They have to stay at the allocated hospital (on-call) rooms until permanent housing becomes available.On other occasions, physicians from the other districts have to work there to replace the usual doctor who is either on vacation, sick leave or is awaiting...
Teluki
One of my readers had suggested that I write about the ‘Teluki’. She herself hailed from Ukong Village in Tutong, and although it was her suggestion, she was reluctant to talk about it. I thought this was a very strange behaviour. I wonder if it was because she was afraid of 'cabul', i.e. conjuring the spirit through talking about it. Anyway, she suggested I look up on YouTube for a video about it. Some guy had made a short low-budget...
