'Hao Siao'

As a Penangite I've always taken pride that I was born in and brought up on a wonderful island where the lingua franca was Penang Hokkien.

the real laksa in Penang, not the bloody imitation curry-mee in KL and elsewhere 

That lingo not only unifies the true Penangites of all races but also distinguishes us Penangites from Mainlanders, and I mean Mainlanders of Peninsula Malaysia, wakakaka.

KL sweeties told me Penang Hokkien was sexy. I suppose that's because it has cleverly assimilated the 'softer & subtle' Malay and Thai languages with English, Tamil and the Hokkien that's a sub-dialect of Zhangzhou (漳州; Hokkien: Chiang-chiu) - different from Singapore Hokkien or Taiwanese Hokkien but could be mutually understood to a reasonable degree.

Today, sadly due to the influx of Mainlander Chinese into Penang, wakakaka, only 64% of Penang Chinese speak Penang Hokkien when once it was 100%.

Batu Pahat ay lang 

The growing younger set speaks only Mandarin whilst the others speak Cantonese. An American linguist warns that with the preferred usage of Mandarin by the younger generation, in a few more years Penang Hokkien may well become extinct like Latin, wakakaka. Pro Ora Nobis.

Though CM Lim Guan Eng is Hokkien and no doubt can speak the dialect and Cantonese as well, I doubt he can speak fluent Penang Hokkien (unless he has been secretly practising, wakakaka).

But former PM AAB can speak Penang Hokkien fluently as was revealed by Star Group Boss (group managing director/chief executive officer) Wong Chun Wai in an interview some years ago.

Wong heard AAB asking his (Chinese) Private Sec "What time it is?" in fluent Penang Hokkien (Tong kim kooi tiam liao?). 

Anyway, today when I read The Malaysian Insight's Kepala Batas folk go ‘yawn’, as 3Ms roll into town (Kepala Batas in Penang State, not the one just before Jitra, Kedah, next to the RMAF Alor Setar base) I could not help but smile, rather broadly if I may confess, when I read the following:

Retiree Isa Saad, 62, from Pokok Sena in Tasek Gelugor near Kepala Batas heard about the ceramah but also decided to give it a miss. He was sick of the politicking and hearing both sides of the political divide slamming each other in their speeches.

“I think I have had enough. They just badmouth the other side. I rather attend religious lectures. 

[the above yellow highlighted view was shared by a Chinese interviewee in Kepala Batas]

“In the 1980s, I was interested in politics. I went to BN ceramah and even DAP ceramah. I listened to Lim Kit Siang criticise the government and Dr Mahathir,” he said.

Now, Dr Mahathir and Lim are on the same team in the opposition.

“The Chinese would call this ‘hao siao’ (hilarious or ridiculous),” Isa said.

He was also unimpressed by Dr Mahathir, saying a man who is 92 should call it a day.

“He, too, has his legacies. He mentored (Prime Minister) Najib Razak, so how the student is behaving today is the result of his teachings, right?”

M: wa boay kah-see lu kau kau

N: lu taan ku ku 

Wakakaka, his ability to say 'hao siao' rather appropriately when he commented on the on-off-on-off relationship between arch-foes Mahathir and Lim Kit Siang and now bromantic-allies Lim Kit Siang and Mahathir shows in no uncertain terms his pedigree as a 101% Penangite and his command and dexterous use of Penang Hokkien.

The Malaysian Insight was civil in translating ‘hao siao’ as 'hilarious' or 'ridiculous'. Those two words are quite correct but I feel not quite spot on. Nonetheless they suffice as 'polite' translations especially in ladies' company.

The most accurate translation for ‘hao siao’ is 'bullshit', wakakaka, and I kid you not.

Yes, one could also use words like 'bluff', 'not true', 'joking' (in an unbelievable incredulous implausible way), 'nonsense', etc. But really, the best translated word is 'bullshit', wakakaka again.

Isa Saad knows that the current pally-buddy relationship of Mahathir and Lim Kit Siang is nonsense when one easily recalls them 'only yesterday' as irreconcilable arch-foes, in other words, 'tua hao siao', wakakaka, where I have added to Isa Saad's term another Penang Hokkien 'tua' which means 'humongous', wakakaka again.

Anyway, the cool reception towards the 3-M's arrival must be disappointing news for Pribumi, considering it's The Malaysian Insight's news report - the news media portal is believed to be a reincarnation of the once-highly popular (but now defunct) The Malaysian insider, a known pro-Pakatan media portal.

sunrise at abdullah fahim mosque kepala batas penang

Of course Kepala Batas isn't exactly Kubang Pasu or Pagoh, respectively the strongholds of Mahathir and Muhyiddin but there has been a decidedly lack of curiosity, quite different from the huge crowd which would throng Anwar Ibrahim's ceramah anywhere.

Just as an indication of the disinterest shown especially by Malays in Kepala Batas, the following are two of their views, as reported by The Malaysian Insight:

Housewife, Rafeah, 48, from Penaga in Kepala Batas said she also did not know about the ceramah and was not interested to attend.

She said she has housework to worry about.

“Whoever is in the government, prices of groceries will still increase. It is just the same. So, I rather not know about ceramah or what the politicians have to say.”

***

Mechanic Muhammad Fitri Mohd Jifri, 21, said he was too busy trying to make a living to care about ceramah and politics.

“I am from Pinang Tunggal. People in my area don’t discuss politics much. So, I didn’t hear any talk about the ceramah.”

The youth, who just started working three months ago, is also uninterested to attend tonight’s ceramah.

“I don’t really care. There are so many things I have to sort out since I just finished my studies. My basic salary is just RM1,100 and I need to think about rent, EPF (Employees’ Provident Fund), the rising cost of living,” he said.