I was at Tesco, waiting outside Watson. My hubby has gone into Watson, leaving me with the grocery trolley. I saw this peddlar with a huge array of tiny bottles. Something caught my eyes. Does that look like sengkuang? Sengkuang? What are they selling?
The promoter saw me squinting from across the corridor. Still curious, I pushed my trolley over and asked, “Eh, ni kan sengkuang? Buat apa sengkuang ini?”
The promoter, maybe an East Malaysian Malay didn’t hear me at first but instead, he broke into his sales talk, “This cream bla bla…”
But I asked again, “Eh, sengkuang ni untuk apa? Krim apa ni? Pasal apa kulit sengkuang ni licin?”
He replied, “Ini sengkuang dari Sarawak. Krim ni boleh hilangkan oh-pan (pigmentation)”
I asked again, “Kalau macam tu, beli sengkuang, tonyeh kat muka pun boleh lah?”
So, the guy asked me, “Eh, Melayu kah Cina?”
I burst into laughter because no one ever mistaken me for a Malay. Not in a million years if they have seen me. Mata sepet, kulit cerah, mana sama Melayu? But probably he hasn’t met nyonya Cina cakap loghat Penang, tak pernah dengaq tonyeh kut?
**From here, change topic. Talking religion, so you have been warned.
Hmmm….maybe I must have read aloud the Bahasa Melayu verses too often, so my tongue can really roll now. Do you know it is so soothing to read the Mazmur and Amsal in Bahasa Melayu? (Mazmur = Psalm, Amsal = Proverbs) I just realized that my understanding of Bahasa Malaysia is stronger than English. When I read a sentence, I immediately understand it, much faster than English. I am a product of 11 years of studying every subjects in Bahasa Malaysia (except English subject).
“Isteri yang baik menjadi kebanggaan dan kebahagiaan suaminya, tetapi isteri yang memalukan suaminya bagai penyakit barah yang menjadikan tulang reput.” (Amsal 12:4, Al-Kitab)
See? Dahsyat kan? It hits you on the face compared to the English one which says something like A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown…..
More on wives : “Rumah dan harta boleh diwarisi daripada ibu bapa, tetapi isteri yang bijak ialah kurnia daripada TUHAN.” (19:14)
I am liking it. Some examples on orang bodoh (foolish people)
“Apabila orang bodoh bercakap mereka terjerat oleh kata-kata mereka dan membinasakan diri.” (Amsal 18:6)
Cun! Straight to the point.
Orang bodoh selalu menganggap diri mereka betul, sedangkan orang bijak mendengarkan nasihat. (Ams 12:15)
Have a good weekend, folks!
“Apabila orang bodoh bercakap mereka terjerat oleh kata-kata mereka dan membinasakan diri.” (Amsal 18:6) 😆
LOL! Methinks certain orang bodoh needs to read the Kitab!
Foongs last blog post..So now it is the women’s fault for high divorce rates!
tenyeh lah not tonyeh!
but i dunno how an penang people says tenyeh word.
Foong – The Book of Proverbs which is part of the Bible memang wicked one. All those one liners really smack us on the face. It is partly written by King Solomon in the 10 century BC. Ahem…I copied wan lah, I no so clever wan.
And hor, when you are angry or something, read it, and it betul-betul express the feelings when we cannot find the words for them. People told me I cannot treat the Bible like main tikam-tikam like that but…who cares lah, at least I am reading it.
jusoh – Orang Penang lah….hang tak tau kut.
Had a similar experience myself when someone asked if I was a Malay. 😆
Makes me wonder why I have to be malay to speak the language…
Michelles last blog post..SOMEONE admits to being part of the SPY SQUAD, at last
Apa lagi dgn bangsa melayu, cina, india?? Bangsa Malaysia ma! the oni way tat we can hv full integration is tat all of us throw away d mentality of bangsa-ness and start tinking of bangsa malaysia, anak malaysia. but…. haiz……
Ya lah!! Me also like that, whenever i open my mouth to speak Malay, first question kena asked, U ni malay ke cina? My answer..of course none of the above!:P
kaDusMamas last blog post..I’m sick and tired
Mistaken for a Japanese once in Germany until I asked the Ang Moh if he knows Jackie Chan… 😐
Syiok kalau berbahasa melayu. Entah kenape ada loons yg anti sgt belajar melayu. Say waste of time wor. Fullat ppl.. dun becum msians la.
Kis last blog post..Bitch dulan about siew mai..
Is your translation of the Bible the one from LAI (Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia) or the one published by the Bible Society of Malaysia in Damansara? I have both, by the way but am too lazy to check 😎
– MENJ
menjs last blog post..We lost the Pulau Batu Putih judgement!
menj – The Bahasa Indonesia Bible is available online but I am using the Al-Kitab in Bahasa Melayu.
ki – Yalah, mesti bangga dengan bahasa negara kita kan?
anakpenang – All angmohs cannot tell Chinese, Korean and Jap.
kadusmama – When I am in Sabah, I also get so confused cos East Malaysians all so majmuk
trex – Still got difference mah…tak kan we skali scrape our roots.
michelle – I take it as a compliment that I speak well enough to ‘qualify’ myself as a Malay.