The Star
Wednesday October 15, 2008
Penang cops learn Hokkien
GEORGE TOWN: Do not be surprised if a Malay or Indian policeman stops you on the street and speaks in fluent Hokkien.
This is because Penang police have been offering a Hokkien dialect course to their personnel.
State police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob said a three-month course had been drawn up to teach the personnel better communications skills, especially in a state where Hokkien is widely spoken.
He said the first batch of 35 policemen of various races had already gone through the course which started in August and ended recently.
Another lesson, to be carried out by a professional tutor scheduled to be held thrice weekly, will start in November.
“Most people in Penang speak Hokkien. However, the ratio of Hokkien speaking policemen and the population in the state stands at 1:6,000 and this is not good.
“By having the Hokkien lessons, there would be better communication between the police and the people,’ he said at a press conference to announce his appointment as Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (Penang chapter) deputy chairman.
DCP Ayub said the rapport between the policemen and the public could indirectly grow closer when they are able to speak confidently in the dialect.
“The policemen and officers, especially the young ones, will be sent for such training so that they are able to converse in the dialect,” he said.
He said they would also try to rope in language experts from Universiti Sains Malaysia to conduct courses in other languages, so they can communicate with tourists.
On another matter, DCP Ayub said the two abandoned blocks of police quarters in Taman Tun Sardon would be refurbished.
He said the state police were still waiting for the approval of a RM2mil allocation from Home Ministry for the refurbishment work.
“There is a need to spruce up the two blocks before the policemen stationed at the Penang International Airport can move in.”
The 80-unit quarters, comprising two blocks of five-storey building each, had been left in a shabby state since the policemen moved to their new apartments in 2001.
Also present at the press conference was foundation chairman Datuk Seri Kamal Hashim.
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Sin Chew Daily
Police To Learn Hokkien Dirty Words
2008-10-21 12:13
Ye Yin Ni (right) and DCP Ayub (second right) are talking with police officers who know basic Hokkien dialect. (Photo courtesy: Sin Chew Daily)
PENANG: Policemen who take basic Hokkien dialect course is going to learn Hokkien “dirty words”, so that they know if the public are swearing at them.
During the class opening ceremony Saturday (18 Oct), lecturer Ye Yin Ni encouraged policemen to learn Hokkien for better communication between the police and the people.
When being asked whether they are going to learn Hokkien dirty words, she said certainly dirty words are included in their syllabus. She stressed that it is not meant to encourage policemen to use the words but it is to avoid them being bullied by pranksters.
This is the second time for the Penang police to have a basic Hokkien dialect course. The first batch of 30 policemen already completed the course recently.
State police Chief Deputy Comm Datuk Wira Ayub Yaakob said that policemen who take the lesson will not be given any allowance as the course is already free of charge. (Sin Chew Daily)
Police to learn Hokkien
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Andrew
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
Mind your Hokkien
By ANN TAN
AN investigative officer and another three police officers were interrogating a criminal to find out the whereabouts of his accomplices.
The policemen, all non-Chinese, were not speaking Bahasa Malaysia or English but Hokkien instead.
“Lu ai kong mai kong (are you going to tell us or not)?
“Lu siao kua, lu eh pa, lu eh mak, lu eh boh kia (think of your parents, your wife and your children),” they told the suspect.
The suspect had allegedly robbed a jewellery shop with two accomplices in Prangin Mall, Penang, but later decided to give himself up to the police.
The five were actually acting in a sketch by police personnel. They were putting into practice their knowledge of Hokkien which they learned from a three-month Hokkien class course in Penang.
Class in progress: Police personnel role playing in a sketch on a jewellery shop robbery.
The plot started off with three police officers, who acted as robbers, speaking to each other on their plan to rob a jewellery shop .
They pledged not to reveal the plan, should anyone get caught.
There was a scene when the trio tried to attack a security guard and held the jewellery shop owner as captive.
The audience burst into laughter when the policeman, who was playing the role of the shop owner, said in his not-so-fluent Hokkien: “Ho ka chai bo si (Luckily I’m not dead).”
One of the ‘culprits’ was later captured by the police and brought back to the police station for questioning.
The group of 20 police officers, who had recently completed their third Hokkien class, later tried out their skills by walking to the Chowrasta Market and communicated with the traders in Hokkien.
Market traders, who were surprised by their visit, were more astonished when they heard them speaking in Hokkien.
Among them were nutmeg stall owner Ch’ng Lai Huat and his wife Teoh Soek Hoon.
“It is definitely easier for us to communicate with the police in Hokkien than in Bahasa Malaysia.
“We feel closer to them and find it more comfortable to provide them with information,” Ch’ng said.
Che Wan Faiza Che Wan Salleh, 34, managed to start off the conversation with Ch’ng by asking him: “Taukeh, kin jit seng li hoe bo (boss, how is your business today)?”
Che Wan said she would usually practise the dialect with her husband, friends and even her one-year-old daughter.
Sarjan S. Neelawati, 42, said she found the dialect useful and easy to understand but required a lot of practice.
Emmanuel Dhesen, 24, from Kuching, who has been serving the police force in Penang for four years, said he initially found learning the dialect a great challenge but began lo-ving it soon after.
“I had to make notes and sometimes, I just look like a mad man speaking to myself and practising,” he said.
He added that he was also teaching his sister the dialect.
By ANN TAN
AN investigative officer and another three police officers were interrogating a criminal to find out the whereabouts of his accomplices.
The policemen, all non-Chinese, were not speaking Bahasa Malaysia or English but Hokkien instead.
“Lu ai kong mai kong (are you going to tell us or not)?
“Lu siao kua, lu eh pa, lu eh mak, lu eh boh kia (think of your parents, your wife and your children),” they told the suspect.
The suspect had allegedly robbed a jewellery shop with two accomplices in Prangin Mall, Penang, but later decided to give himself up to the police.
The five were actually acting in a sketch by police personnel. They were putting into practice their knowledge of Hokkien which they learned from a three-month Hokkien class course in Penang.
Class in progress: Police personnel role playing in a sketch on a jewellery shop robbery.
The plot started off with three police officers, who acted as robbers, speaking to each other on their plan to rob a jewellery shop .
They pledged not to reveal the plan, should anyone get caught.
There was a scene when the trio tried to attack a security guard and held the jewellery shop owner as captive.
The audience burst into laughter when the policeman, who was playing the role of the shop owner, said in his not-so-fluent Hokkien: “Ho ka chai bo si (Luckily I’m not dead).”
One of the ‘culprits’ was later captured by the police and brought back to the police station for questioning.
The group of 20 police officers, who had recently completed their third Hokkien class, later tried out their skills by walking to the Chowrasta Market and communicated with the traders in Hokkien.
Market traders, who were surprised by their visit, were more astonished when they heard them speaking in Hokkien.
Among them were nutmeg stall owner Ch’ng Lai Huat and his wife Teoh Soek Hoon.
“It is definitely easier for us to communicate with the police in Hokkien than in Bahasa Malaysia.
“We feel closer to them and find it more comfortable to provide them with information,” Ch’ng said.
Che Wan Faiza Che Wan Salleh, 34, managed to start off the conversation with Ch’ng by asking him: “Taukeh, kin jit seng li hoe bo (boss, how is your business today)?”
Che Wan said she would usually practise the dialect with her husband, friends and even her one-year-old daughter.
Sarjan S. Neelawati, 42, said she found the dialect useful and easy to understand but required a lot of practice.
Emmanuel Dhesen, 24, from Kuching, who has been serving the police force in Penang for four years, said he initially found learning the dialect a great challenge but began lo-ving it soon after.
“I had to make notes and sometimes, I just look like a mad man speaking to myself and practising,” he said.
He added that he was also teaching his sister the dialect.
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for posting that. It really warms my heart to hear about Penang Hokkien being given such attention!
SimL
Thanks for posting that. It really warms my heart to hear about Penang Hokkien being given such attention!
SimL
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
That is pretty cool. Now they just need to give children lessons in it and the future will be bright.
BTW I see an idiom here I don't understand
Ho ka chai bo si
Luckily I didn't die
Is the "luckily" Ho ka chai? Is it used elsewhere?
Regards,
Ah-bin
BTW I see an idiom here I don't understand
Ho ka chai bo si
Luckily I didn't die
Is the "luckily" Ho ka chai? Is it used elsewhere?
Regards,
Ah-bin
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
Hi Ah-bin,
Well guessed! Indeed, "ho kai cai" is "fortunately", "luckily".
I had no idea that it's not standard Hokkien. Hmmm... I just noticed that it's transcribed "ka cai", whereas I only pronounce it as "kai cai". Hopefully Andrew can tell us more.
SimL
Well guessed! Indeed, "ho kai cai" is "fortunately", "luckily".
I had no idea that it's not standard Hokkien. Hmmm... I just noticed that it's transcribed "ka cai", whereas I only pronounce it as "kai cai". Hopefully Andrew can tell us more.
SimL
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Andrew
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
I pronounce it ho2 ka3/2-cai1, and it means fortunately, just as well that ...
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Andrew
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
De Gijzel has fortunate, ho-mia, kai-chai, ho-kai-chai.
Douglas-Barclay has 該哉 kai--tsài , fortunately!, put-chí kai--tsài, how very fortunately! ai--tsài, how unfortunate
Douglas-Barclay has 該哉 kai--tsài , fortunately!, put-chí kai--tsài, how very fortunately! ai--tsài, how unfortunate
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
Hi Andrew,
Very interesting for me to know that you say "ka" not "kai".
I've never really had a word for "unfortunately". In some circumstances I say "phah4-sng2" (= "hit waste"), but that only works for "missed opportunities" and the like: "phah-sng (kong) i bo khi" (= "unfortunately he didn't go", "pity (that) he didn't go"). I'd have no idea how to say "unfortunately, I don't have enough money to go".
I only use "ho-mia" to mean someone having good fortune or good luck, with the corresponding "phaiN-mia" for someone having bad fortune or bad luck. More "fortune" than "luck", as in a long-term / lifetime thing (e.g. having rich parents, or being married to an awful spouse), rather than a short-term / one-off thing (e.g. winning a lottery or being involved in a car accident), though the latter is also possible. And these "mia"-compounds can't be used for "fortunately" or "unfortunately" in my usage. Also, in my usage "kai-cai" must go with "ho", it can't exist by itself, nor can it be negated or used in any of the other listed combinations. [But this is purely a reflection of my limited Hokkien.]
SimL
P.S. I think that the "kong" in brackets above is influenced by the English "that".
Very interesting for me to know that you say "ka" not "kai".
I've never really had a word for "unfortunately". In some circumstances I say "phah4-sng2" (= "hit waste"), but that only works for "missed opportunities" and the like: "phah-sng (kong) i bo khi" (= "unfortunately he didn't go", "pity (that) he didn't go"). I'd have no idea how to say "unfortunately, I don't have enough money to go".
I only use "ho-mia" to mean someone having good fortune or good luck, with the corresponding "phaiN-mia" for someone having bad fortune or bad luck. More "fortune" than "luck", as in a long-term / lifetime thing (e.g. having rich parents, or being married to an awful spouse), rather than a short-term / one-off thing (e.g. winning a lottery or being involved in a car accident), though the latter is also possible. And these "mia"-compounds can't be used for "fortunately" or "unfortunately" in my usage. Also, in my usage "kai-cai" must go with "ho", it can't exist by itself, nor can it be negated or used in any of the other listed combinations. [But this is purely a reflection of my limited Hokkien.]
SimL
P.S. I think that the "kong" in brackets above is influenced by the English "that".
Re: Police to learn Hokkien
How *DO* Forum members here say "unfortunately"?I'd have no idea how to say "unfortunately, I don't have enough money to go".