Boss!

If you ever go to Sabah, or just happen to stumble upon a gathering of Sabahans, chances are you'll hear everyone (especially among the men; sometimes even among the women) greet each other as "boss."

This doesn't mean one of them is actually the other's real boss, although sometimes they really are.

I'm not sure if "term of endearment" is the right phrase to use to describe this.

Sure, friends call each other that but when it comes to strangers, or simply people whose name you forgot, the term "boss" really does come in handy to break the ice. I guess you can sort of compare it with "bang" (as in short for abang, which means brother for you non-Bahasa Malaysia speaking folks) in the peninsula.

One of the first things I was told by my friend (who is a Petaling Jaya boy) when I set foot here four years ago is that in the peninsula, you address people like security guards, bus drivers and conductors, taxi drivers and other strangers whose names you do not know as "bang", pretty much the same way we use "boss" in Sabah.

Of course, that doesn't mean Peninsular Malaysians don't use the term "boss" as well. They do. I've noticed people calling the waiter at the mamak restaurant "boss" as well so now it's starting to become a grey area.

I guess the obvious difference now is the frequency in which Sabahans use the term "boss".

Then again, there's also another Sabahan meaning of "boss".

In Sabah, "boss"also means father.

So if you hear school-going teenagers ask each other, "macam mana boss kau?"they're actually referring to their their dads.

In some circles, the term "beliau" is also used to refer to fathers.

eg. "Beliau kau sihat?"

For mothers, it's "ma'am."

eg. "Ma'am kau yang hantar kau kah?"

I'm not sure whether this is restricted to just Kota Kinabalu or what so if anyone from another part of Sabah can confirm it, just email me or leave a comment. =)

Anyway, before I stray from the "boss" topic completely, I just wanna share this little story about my high school biology teacher, who was a firm believer and advocate of science (a bit of an ultra if you ask me... heheh... )

Anyway, one day, she decided to tell the whole class about how she hated it when people called her boss.

The reason is simple: the scientific name for gaurs (a large, dark-coated ox of South Asia and South-East Asia) is Bos gaurus.

She just refused to be referred to as an ox that looks like this (snapped this pic in Zoo Negara):

But judging by her own size, I think most of my classmates thinks she's a cow anyway.

If I ever bump into her, I should just call her "boss"... just to smite her....

Hehehe...