Eagle - If you... once in a while, when the sun is not too fierce... look up to the sky... you are bound to see some eagles flying purposely... although to the untrained eye they seem to be flying aimlessly without any real purpose but in reality they are hanging around waiting for dinner to be served!

This is another example of "knowing without learning!"

Some time ago, a few self-indulging individuals afflicted by some warped sense of humanity, no doubt, took it upon themselves to feed the eagles with scraps of meat and this practice later turned into a tourist attraction.

There is not much harm in this except for the fact that nobody ever gave much thought about the long-term effects it might have on the birds.

Firstly, as correctly pointed out by some knowledgable individuals, the consumption of scraps, like chicken guts, can adversely affect the eagles.

Secondly, don't people understand that nature, or God (depending on your preference) has endowed all creatures, great and small, with survival instincts, thus, ensuring the balance of nature?

It would be tragic if we compromised their existence through our sheer ignorance and plain stupidity, especially when these predators have, symbolically, played a major part in the formation of Langkawi! For details on this, click statue.

Now, for something light... terminologically speaking, we do NOT have eagles, but kites... more specifically, Brahminy kites! and speaking of kites..., click here for the non-living variety!

Eel - If you happen to see something small, wriggling across the road on those damp, wet nights -- in July-September -- don't worry!

These are just eels trying to cross the road, which only God knows, why? Then, there is this old wives' tale that it cures asthma, and, only the old wives know, how?

Electricity - It is something all of us take for granted due to the fact that most of us did not experience the days before electricity... when there was really nothing much to do after dark.

The residents of Pantai Cenang/Tengah still remember those days, as it wasn't too long ago that they finally got "connected!" and this was only quite recent, sometime in the early '80s.

Now that we do have this luxury, we say, thank you very much!... and, just to prove that we have so much of it, we even light up the trees with our electricity which, incidentally, is on a 240 volts, 50-cycle system.

Furthermore, if our Tourism Minister had his way, all buildings would be obliged, by a by-law, to illuminate "itselves" at night-time.

Mind you, the man has had good tracks of record for having things done his way.

If you go "green" at seeing our tour busses... well, that's one of "his" ways!

... and if a hotel employee clutches his heart like when one is prone to do when shocked at seeing something horrible or appearing to suffer from an onsetting cardiac arrest... while greeting you "Selamat Datang"... well that's another of his ways!

English - Although most Malaysians do speak it, but sadly it has been "Malaysianized" to such an extent that it has become almost a language of its own. I think they fondly call it Manglish, which is rather appropriate as it is, without a doubt, a much mangled affair!

But, in all fondness, the level is -- generally -- sufficient to carry out basic conversation. At any rate, you'd fare better off with your English over here, then in the neighbouring countries. And this could very well be the reason that, over 95% of all English-speaking expatriates living in Malaysia are NOT able to effectively communicate in the national language. A "luxury" that is NOT possible when living in, say, Thailand, or Indonesia, where the national language IS the national language!

Also, there are plenty of foreigners who, despite having Malaysian spouses and living in Langkawi for several years, have yet to progress beyond the one-word-sentence phase. After all, why learn a new language when you don't have to, right?

As a matter of interest, check out some of the commonly used expressions below!

Environment - It is a fact that the island depends, largely, on tourists for its livelihood, but this is not a license for you to pollute the environment.

Please, help keep this duty free island free of litter, even though it does seem to appear that nobody cares, especially when you see the amount of litter strewn everywhere.

Let's start somewhere with the hope of educating the "idiots" who pre-suppose that the whole world is one large rubbish bin!

Ah... yes, the real curse! The "curse" of knowledge, in that you have to do what needs to be done without the reward (although knowledge is in itself a reward!) while the ignoramuses get away, scot-free, even though fines of up to RM 2,000.00 could be imposed on litter-bugs!

Alas, with only signboards reminding the, by nature obstinate, litter-bugs of this fact and not fierce humans, in uniforms, going round handing out summonses, it is of no wonder you'd get to see more rubbish dumped underneath these "Keep Langkawi clean" boards than anywhere else -- as if in an act of defiance! (told you they are an obstinate lot, didn't I?) That's what we get with civil servants whose concern is limited to putting up huge signboards, but nothing else!

Expression - Here are some expressions that you'd most likely get to hear during your stay:

• lah...Ah...yes, the ever present lah. Its yes-lah or no-lah or whatever-lah but all words must be accompanied by the ubiquitous lah! or so it would seem. As a general rule, it is also worthwhile to note that "habitual-abusers" of lah are not from Langkawi, because the dialect here does not use it all that frequent. Furthermore, the few Langkawians that do speak English, must have picked up the language interacting with the foreign tourists; therefore, are NOT in the habit of speaking "Manglish" (2 parts-English and 8-parts-Malay or somewhere thereabouts) with their fellow islanders. I have, in the meantime, deduced that these habitual abusers are, unmistakably, out-of-towners! So, now you know one way of spotting them.
• "Hello, Mister!" - If someone comes up to you with this "greeting" be prepared to hear a sales pitch right after this next line, "Where you stay here!" (Please note that the question mark has been, purposefully, omitted because the tone in which this is usually uttered does NOT necessarily warrant one!) If you have the patience... humour the guy because it might turn out to be quite amusing. Although if the offer is really value-for-money or not... well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? Let's just say that its part of the "legends" of Langkawi!
• if you were to ask for the bill at a restaurant, be prepared to hear something like, "Ten ringgit, only!" with the accent on "only" You'd be excused for asking if it would have been any more expensive or cheaper, had you, say, not eaten your greens or had used up too much ketchup. Rest assured, the person who said it, didn't try to insinuate anything by it. It is another classic case of habitual abusers from out-of-town... only, this time it is not lah but "only." This is another way to spot out-of-towners residing in Langkawi.
• there are times when you might be stumped with, "Don't make me shy." This is a classic case of literal translation from Malay to English. What the speaker is really trying to say is, "Don't embarrass me." So, now you know!
• another alphabet that is prone to abusage is "s" -- more precisely words that end with this letter! Basically, they have problems differentiating between plural nouns and verbs used with the second pronouns. Notwithstanding, there are other rather innovative speakers who use the "s" endings for every other word in a sentence.
• by now it would be apparent that there are a lot of "habitual abusers" and this section will be updated with more "gems" in due course! The only explanation for this state of affair is, either that they are too proud to ask, or are simply too lazy to learn. Which ever the case might be, it is the classic "knowing without learning" syndrome!




---

back next