High demand: People enjoying the herbal tea provided by Anwar, which supposedly cures 15 types of ailments.
MALACCA: Hundreds of people are flocking to a gardener’s home in Kampung Pengkalan Batu here to drink his herbal tea, which supposedly cures 15 types of ailments.
Every evening, dozens of cars are parked along the narrow road leading to Jalan Solok Kedai, so much so that Anwar Ibrahim has converted his house compound into a tea stall.
The 59-year-old said he grew the plant – from the Allamanda genus – to beautify the school where he worked. The plant was provided by the Government.
“My superior told me that the plant was a herb and I tested this by wiping a leaf on the injuries I suffered during a fall. To my surprise, the injuries were healed in just a few days,” he said here yesterday.
“I then thought to boil and drink the plant’s extracts for a month to see if it could help control my blood pressure.
“I was surprised to find that my reading dropped and that my doctor declared that I was healthy again,” he said.
Anwar said he then let his neighbours, who had various ailments, drink six glasses of the tea daily for one month.
“Miraculously, they are cured,” he claimed.
Some 200 people would turn up at his house each day to drink the six glasses of tea for free, which they called teh kuasa.
“My family now helps me boil and serve it,” he said, adding that some of those who drank his concoction gave tips of between RM1 and RM5.
Anwar said he did not know the plant’s scientific name, adding that a university in Penang and Health Ministry officers contacted him to know more about his tea.
Horticulturist Gary Gan said the Allamanda genus was a tropical plant, adding that it had various properties besides lowering cholesterol.
“However, curing stroke patients is something new,” he said, adding that this needed more research.
Allamanda is a genus of flowering plants native to the Americas, more popularly grown for its large, colourful – usually, yellow – flowers.
It has been used in traditional medicine, with some species being used to treat liver tumours, jaundice and even malaria. Laboratory analysis also showed that certain species react to cancer cells.
Businessman Rosli Harian, 51, claimed that after drinking Anwar’s tea, he could now walk.
“I had difficulty moving around after my stroke. My wife took me to Anwar’s home last month and now, I can walk again,” he said.
Petrol kiosk owner Mohd Jefri Abdul Razak said his blood sugar level had dropped since taking the tea.
