Same words, different meanings....

I remember this was one of the first things a friend of mine pointed out when he came back to KK for holiday from studying in KL.

Be careful with the phrases that we love to use back home whenever we're in KL.

He told us the story about his good friend who was, one fine day, chatting with another friend of theirs.

"Good friend" thought that whatever "another friend" had said was outrageous.

Like how he (and many others back home) like to react, he just yelled out "Pantat kau lah!"

(Literally translated, at least to Sabahans, that means "Your butt lah.")

As soon as he had blurted that out, a friend of his from the peninsula quickly asked him to pipe down.

Whispering to him, the "peninsula friend" said: "Shhh... do you know what pantat means?"

"Good friend" obviously answered that it referred to the rear end.

However, "peninsula friend" said that was not the case, at least not in Peninsular Malaysia.

Apparently, "pantat" means another "end" for people West of the South China Sea.

It means a woman's, err... you know... Ummm.... (to quote Russell Peters) Her "poom poom."

Another friend of mine whom I think studied in Kuching or something had this to say about the same word.

Apparently, "pantat" means "to have sexual intercourse" in Sarawak.

I don't know how accurate these are but hey, that's what my friends told me.

That is one reason why I make a conscious effort NOT to ever use the phrase "pantat kau lah" anywhere outside of Sabah.

You never know how it might be interpreted in other parts of the country.

Another word I found that had a different meaning here in Peninsular Malaysia is "kelmarin."

It means "the day before yesterday" over here as opposed to "yesterday" back home in Sabah.

For "yesterday", the accepted word here in the peninsula is "semalam."

As far as I know, both "semalam" and "kelmarin" both mean the same thing back home.

I don't know about Sarawak though.

If you've read this far, then chances are I made the right choice leading off today's post with "pantat."

Had I started off with "kelmarin", I probably would have lost your interest by the fourth line.

Heheh... clever of me huh?

Fact or Myth: Sabahans are generally a corrupt lot.

So what do you think?

Is it true? Are Sabahans really that corrupt? Can Sabahans be bought that easily?

Okay, maybe the more appropriate question is this - Are Sabahans more corrupt than the average Malaysian?

Let's face it, which one of us haven't heard of people being given money to vote for a particular party during the elections?

Which one of us Sabahans haven't heard of that?

I wish there was a way that I could say that this was all a myth, an urban (and rural) legend, but judging from my own experience and from what I hear, it seems that it is a fact.

Sabahans do seem to be bought all the time. Sometimes they even ask to be bought, which makes things even worse.

I remember when I was back home for the 2004 general election. The elections had just concluded and this particular personality was voted into Parliament.

Well, during an event that I attended with a colleague of mine, this new YB's personal assistant stretched out her hand to shake mine, so I obliged.

Then, at the very last second, I realised there was a RM50 note in her palm (a thank you gesture on behalf of her boss perhaps?), so I quickly brushed her hand away.

Guess what was her reaction?

Thinking that I was from the peninsula, she said: "Kau dari KL bah kan? Ini biasa ni di sini. Ambil saja lah."

At that moment in time, I felt sticking my head into the ground. I felt ashamed because people like this had created a stereotype for "outsiders" to label Sabahans.

For those of you who follow the news, you'll also remember that our Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam became the first (or one of the first) serving federal minister to be charged with corruption just before the 2004 general election.

Around the same time, Datuk Wasli Said was also charged.

The timing couldn't be better, right?

It was just months after Pak Lah had pledged to the people when he took office as Prime Minister that he would eradicate corruption.

Who better to use to set an example than a couple of Sabahans.

With the general election reportedly just around the corner, chances are a lot of Sabahans would probably be put in a situation where they should ask themselves this - Am I that cheap? Do I wanna vote this person to Parliament or the State Assembly because he (or his people) paid me to?

Or am I voting for him because I think he can do work for the people?

Well, I did say "should ask themselves." Whether they do or not when the object of temptation is set before them is another matter altogether.