Health Department Deploys Team to Find Makassar Residents Obsessed with Drinking Engine Oil
The Health Department has deployed a team to search for and monitor several residents who have gone viral after drinking engine oil or vehicle lubricant in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
“The homecare team will go down to check,” said the Head of the Makassar Health Department, Nursaidah Sirajuddin, to CNNIndonesia.com on Wednesday (8/4).
For now, said Nursaidah, they have also asked all puskesmas healthcare teams to directly monitor residents who drank the oil.
“I have forwarded it to the puskesmas heads for monitoring,” she stated.
Previously, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) of South Sulawesi Province responded to several viral videos on social media in Makassar City regarding several youths and adults dressed in Muslim attire drinking engine oil or vehicle lubricant that had just been opened from its packaging and then shared in turns.
“Engine oil is not a human beverage and it is certain to affect health; its ruling is haram. That means, drinking engine oil is haram because it is not a beverage,” said the Secretary of MUI South Sulawesi, Prof Muammar Bakry, in response to the behaviour to reporters in Makassar on Tuesday (7/4).
Muammar stated that engine oil is a special material for vehicles. If consumed like a regular drink, it will have a bad impact and damage health, thus its ruling is haram.
The behaviour of drinking engine oil under the pretext of boosting stamina and then posting it on social media is misguided. The negative impacts, besides damaging health, can also be imitated by others to do the same.
Muammar reiterated that drinking engine oil, which is clearly not intended for humans, is dangerous to health, even if the effects do not react immediately, but the impact is in the long term.
“Because it’s viral, don’t let this become bad learning that drinking engine oil is permissible. Especially if it’s considered to increase stamina and if watched, then followed by others, this is dangerous,” he emphasised.