Going overboard for Ginger tea in Kota Kinabalu
Voices 1: July 16, 2006
Bidaah, in Islamic terminology means doing things excessively. Of course, In Islamic theology the term refers to the act of people who take something good and then add things to it or do it excessively to the point that it ceases being something good, sometimes if becomes it even becomes a sin. There are plenty of examples but it’s not the form of bidaah that I want to talk about.
In Malay, specifically in Kelantanese Malay, the term bidaah – pronounced bidooh or bedo’oh means taking this and blowing it out of proportion: ad absurdum or even ad nauseam. In common use, they might say, “hoh, bedo’oh mu ni” – “Hoh, you are too much lah”. It can also mean something like, ‘you are pulling my leg’. When he was younger, a cousin of mine was deeply impressed by the rockers, particularly in the way they were dressed. So he went around dressed somewhat like a clown. My mother commented on his clothes once and he replied saying it was how ‘everyone’ was dressed. My dear mum then asked him who exactly he meant by 'everyone' and asked that he give an example. He, of course, failed because no one in his right mind would, among other things, wear a goggles indoors and bandannas on selected limbs. The latter without actually hiding a wound under the tied cloth. Thankfully, this cousin of mine has since see the light and decided to amen his ways. He took a diploma in IT (or something like it) and enrolled as a police officer: I am sure there is a connection there somewhere but it eludes me.
Coming back to the question of bedo’oh, I recently saw and prime example of taking things too far. I was in KK and one evening I went to the seafront food place with some friends and colleagues to meet other old friends and colleagues. I ordered a ginger tea – teh halia kurang manis, which I thought was innocent enough. The drinks came and we continued to chat as we stirred our drinks. As I was stirring my concoction of tea, milk and ginger, what I thought made of ginger juice or ginger extract; I was surprised by something large hampering my spoon’s movement. I fished it out and
to my surprise it was a sizeable chunk of ginger. It seems that when Sabahans go for ginger, they do so with a certain degree of vengeance. So, to share this little bit of joy of knowledge with you, I snapped a few photos of the ginger with my phone camera. If you are with me the next time I go to Sabah, I would be honored if you would join me for some ginger tea.
Bidaah, in Islamic terminology means doing things excessively. Of course, In Islamic theology the term refers to the act of people who take something good and then add things to it or do it excessively to the point that it ceases being something good, sometimes if becomes it even becomes a sin. There are plenty of examples but it’s not the form of bidaah that I want to talk about.
In Malay, specifically in Kelantanese Malay, the term bidaah – pronounced bidooh or bedo’oh means taking this and blowing it out of proportion: ad absurdum or even ad nauseam. In common use, they might say, “hoh, bedo’oh mu ni” – “Hoh, you are too much lah”. It can also mean something like, ‘you are pulling my leg’. When he was younger, a cousin of mine was deeply impressed by the rockers, particularly in the way they were dressed. So he went around dressed somewhat like a clown. My mother commented on his clothes once and he replied saying it was how ‘everyone’ was dressed. My dear mum then asked him who exactly he meant by 'everyone' and asked that he give an example. He, of course, failed because no one in his right mind would, among other things, wear a goggles indoors and bandannas on selected limbs. The latter without actually hiding a wound under the tied cloth. Thankfully, this cousin of mine has since see the light and decided to amen his ways. He took a diploma in IT (or something like it) and enrolled as a police officer: I am sure there is a connection there somewhere but it eludes me.
Coming back to the question of bedo’oh, I recently saw and prime example of taking things too far. I was in KK and one evening I went to the seafront food place with some friends and colleagues to meet other old friends and colleagues. I ordered a ginger tea – teh halia kurang manis, which I thought was innocent enough. The drinks came and we continued to chat as we stirred our drinks. As I was stirring my concoction of tea, milk and ginger, what I thought made of ginger juice or ginger extract; I was surprised by something large hampering my spoon’s movement. I fished it out and
to my surprise it was a sizeable chunk of ginger. It seems that when Sabahans go for ginger, they do so with a certain degree of vengeance. So, to share this little bit of joy of knowledge with you, I snapped a few photos of the ginger with my phone camera. If you are with me the next time I go to Sabah, I would be honored if you would join me for some ginger tea.
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