you dont need to be a malay to know that. no one is so follish to grow banana in own yard, it attract many being of other side due to its strong attraction power.

wait till the penunggu strangle you to death in your sleep!

It does have some truth about the spirits, cuz my mother once brought back a ghost after passing by a deserted area with some banana trees.

Other than that, banana tree is the punching bag for muay thai fighters! Plant some and hit them everyday.

Edit: But I'm curious why only in southeast asia have this kind of stuff, there are foreign countries who plant bananas too, yet they don't have this kind of banana spirit. I wonder why.

Nice explanation here, from Guai Tam, for chinese only. Not all trees can become haunted, it's pretty rare.