The 'No No' Phrases.

My dearest gang,

Sometimes in life, we have to put our foot down to certain things which if allowed to continue will only lead to a slow decline in our general life quality.

What, you may ask, am I talking about?

I'm referring to certain phrases which, to my mind, give a wrong impression of us but are unfortunately now ingrained in our psyche. I call them the 'no no' phrases...'no no' as in please remove them from our mindset!

'Boleh runding'.

No, I am not referring to some multi government to government dialogue. I am referring to that situation we find ourselves in when we have done something wrong and we need to face the punishment or fine or we need some leeway in our application. 'Boleh runding' as in wink wink close one eye. You know what I mean.

Time was when there was even a sense of pride in this ‘boleh runding’ aspect of our life! Talk to a taxi driver in a neighbouring country and he would say he loves Malaysia because we have a heart...'boleh runding'. The English translation for those not in the know is...'can talk one'! The danger here is kind heart lead to a need for contribution of the sort you know. So, that's one no no phrase.

'Sap sap soi'

'Sap sap soi' as in 'I'm sorry the workmanship is way off the mark and it's what you wanted but aiyah, sap sap soi ah'. Yeah, right...

'Kao tim, maah'

'Kao tim maah' as in 'we both win win maah'. I dunno, everytime I kao tim, I lose!

'Takdir'.

Now this is dangerous ground, I know. Religion and all that but most of the time I hear 'takdir' being given as an excuse or reason, it's more in the line of 'I don’t want to do anything, just let it be'. Is this the way it should be?

'Insyaallah'.

No, not as in 'God Willing' as it should be but as it is being used more often than not to mean 'NO'. Someone asks you to a function and you reply 'Insyaallah' knowing fully well you will not be attending. No, in other words.

Now, we will say the utterance of these phrases are minor matters but aren't we being hypocrites in some instances and in others, accepting and creating unhealthy practices which may seem harmless now but can only lead to a deterioration in our standard of living later?

I dunno...I suppose 'bagi chan lah'...Alamak, that’s another 'no no' phrase!

Cheers,

Ruby.