Saturday, July 21, 2012

'Selamat Berbuka Puasa (Happy Breaking Fast) to all Muslims

The Muslims all over the world or rather in Malaysia will start fasting from today for a month. Being a Malaysian, I know too well the religious practice of the Malays all of whom are Muslims here. One of them is 'berpuasa' or fasting. They would start abstaining from food after 'makan sahur' (consuming food after midnight and before dawn prior to fasting). Then they will fast at 'imsak' or when the sun rises. For today, my Malay friend told me that the time for 'berbuka puasa' (breaking fast) was 7.38pm. I understand that  the time varies from day to day and from place to place.

Personally I feel that fasting is good for health because when the body is devoid of food, all the organs will start to work to make them function better.

I wish all Muslims happy breaking fast.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Proving through action

I was at the Jelutong market place this morning when I passed by a man who was selling abrasive sheet to clean the bottom of cooking pots. He told the crowd around him that the abrasive piece is very good as it can remove carbonised coating on the wok's bottom by rubbing it with the aid of water.

To prove that it is really water and not other chemical that he poured from his bottle, he drank the water first before pouring it onto the bottom of the pot he was dealing with. If you look at his action, you will surely be convinced that it is water all right and not chemical of any sort.

The man is really smart. He has proven his point in a simple way.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

How to use 'bazir' and its other derivatives

Many users get confused when using 'bazir'. The following are the common mistakes related to this word.
1 Jangan bazir semasa menggunakan air.
2 Dia membazir wang yang banyak untuk membeli kad prayar telefon bimbit.

You cannot use 'bazir' (to waste) by itself. By adding the prefix meN you can form the intransitive verb 'membazir' which has no object. Hence sentence 2 above is wrong. The correct sentence to be constructed is 'Dia suka membazir semasa menggunakan air.' [He likes to waste water.]

The word 'bazir' can be turned into a transitive verb (a verb that takes an object) by adding the affix 'meN_kan'. The verb formed is 'membazirkan' (to waste + object). A typical sentence you can make with this verb is 'Adik sering membazirkan air semasa mandi.' (My younger brother often wastes water when he bathes.)

The correction for sentence 1 is 'Jangan membazir semasa menggunakan air.' (Don't waste when you use water.)

I hope this short article will benefit those who takes an interest in studying the Malay language.