New Malay Proverbs
Had a fun lunch with Mie and Lim and we discussed the rapid pace of development of Malaysia. Its agreed that old Malay proverbs will no longer cut it as we advance into the 21st century. This new millenium calls for new 'peribahasa' where we can relate to, while phasing out old ones.
Old Proverb : Bagai isi dengan kuku
Meaning: Inseparable, fast friends, 'bromance'
Example: Hubungan Winnie dan Pooh bagai isi dengan kuku.
Difficult to explain this concept without going into a scientific debate about the keratin content of nails with your Dumex infected Wonderkid.
New suggestion : Bagai petrol dengan kereta
New Example : Hubungan Khairy dengan Tony Pua bagai petrol dengan kereta
Old Proverb : Bagai enau dalam belukar
Meaning: A selfish person, not caring about others
Example: Orang MCA biasanya mementingkan diri, bagaikan enau dalam belukar.
Nowadays, you hardly see any enau trees around ( a palmyra family tree used for sap tapping). So it would make more sense to replace it with something else.
New suggestion : Bagai double parking tengah jalan
New Example : Si tolol tu memang pentingkan diri, bagai double parking tengah jalan.
Old Proverb : Padang jarak padang tekukur
Meaning: An empty barren wasteland
Example: Lepas disumpah Mahsuri, Langkawi seperti padang jarak padang tekukur.
With Mahsuri dead and gone and her generation passed the 7th, its hard to tell that to kids, especially with Kedah being such a hassle to drive to.
New suggestion : Bagaikan Cyberjaya
New Example : Lepas dibakar teruk, kawasan perumahan itu kelihatan bagaikan Cyberjaya.
Old Proverb: Bagai aur dengan tebing
Meaning: Helping each other out.
Example: Najib dan Ong sering tolong-menolong seperti aur dengan tebing
Its difficult when there are not too many aurs or tebings left and you can't Google either without a litany of explanations to your junior.
New suggestion: Bagai komputer dengan mouse.
New example: Samy dan KV Yes sering saling membantu seperti komputer dengan mouse.
Old Proverb: Bagai langit dengan bumi
Meaning: Worlds apart
Example: Muka Jennifer Aniston jika dibanding dengan Rose Mah seperti langit dengan bumi.
With the word 'bumi' becoming increasingly taboo and using it may make its user(i.e. your kid) a target of certain NGOs that rhyme with Raksasa, its perhaps more prudent to use a less sensitive approach.
New suggestion: Bagai Oldtown dengan Starbucks
New Example: Perangai Zamry dengan Gandhi amat berbeza sekali, bagai Oldtown dengan Starbucks.
Old Proverb: Bagai pelanduk dua serupa
Meaning: Two lookalikes, doppelanger
Example: Shrek dengan Wayne Rooney bagai pelanduk dua serupa.
Again, your kids supercharged Vitamin A-X multivits will probably cause him to give you the WTF look when you give him this old proverb,we suggest replacing it with-
New suggestion: Bagai Facebook dengan Friendster.
New example: Muka Wai Bee Kina Batang An dengan Doraemon saling tak tumpah, bagai Facebook dengan Friendster.
Old Proverb: Bagai cendawan selepas hujan
Meaning: Springing up everywhere.
Example: Parti politik cambahan Hindraf tiba-tiba muncul di mana-mana, bagai cendawan selepas hujan.
Chances are, only cendawan your kids see is neatly arranged and plastic wrapped in packets of six, so before he asks you the question of the year, we suggest this alternative.
New suggestion: Bagaikan gerai burger luar 7E/ Bagaikan gerai nasi lemak luar LRT.
New example: Depending on your time of day of the sentence, you can use either example above-
Pelompat parti suka muncul sejurus sebelum pilihanraya, bagaikan gerai burger luar 7E (night)
Balai polis berpayung segera muncul kebelakangan ini, bagai gerai nasi lemak luar LRT.
More to come.. :)
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posted by Emmanuel at Friday, April 30, 2010
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