DEvil & DEmon

I’ve been wondering why the words ‘devil’ and ‘demon’ both contain the same morpheme /de/ located in the front part of each word. Besides, these two words have quite a similarity on their meaning. But why? Why do they have to be spelled that way? Is it just mere coincidence? I wonder why.

So I came up with my own theory, but you might think this as nonsense. Never mind. Just spend some time to read this; it won’t kill your brain. What’s so interesting about the morpheme /de/? Semantically, /de/ is a prefix which shows rejection or the characteristic of oppositional to something. Funny enough, this might be the etymological reason why ‘demon’ and ‘devil’ comprises /de/. The devil or Satan was the creature who once lived in the Heaven along with the other angels. But, as a punishment of his disobedience to God, he was expelled (rejected) from the Heaven. /de/ in the words ‘devil’ and ‘demon’ may suggest the rejection of God. Er...anyone with me?er..

By the same token, words like demotivate and dehydrate also supply negative meanings. I can say many English words attached with the prefix /de/, more often than not, mean something negative. Yes. Devil and demon bring along with them negative forces. But, the words like ‘delegate’ and dedicate cannot be mistakenly perceived as the words which contain negative meanings. The /de/ in such words is not prefix rather it is a part of the original root word. This can be related to my opinion. But then again, most importantly, these are just my unwarranted assumptions. They are not to be taken seriously, or to be accepted as true by anyone who might read this. 

Rempitism (PART 1)

Introduction

Rempitism is seemingly a dangerous uprising trend among Malaysian teens especially the Malays. This group of rebellious and wild teenagers, with their daredevil stunts on their bikes, time and again brings disasters to the appalled society. These teenagers have caused many accidents on the road, and mostly ended in tragic deaths; cracked heads and spilled brains, dismembered body parts and etc. Rempitism is believed to give the meaning of the idea of a group of individuals, known as Mat Rempits, to show their bravado on the road and handling their bikes fancifully no matter what it will cost. They always wanted to be seen as talented riders, the brave and the bold ones even though they know their actions are not legal. Ironically, they were never been loved by the society, rather they are despised. 

Etymology

According to Mazlan Pet Pet, a famous comedian from the Senario group, the word rempit is actually onomatopoeia for the sound of rumbling vehicles when the engines purr. The “rem rem’ sound is produced when a motorist starts a vehicle and heats up its engine, while “pipipipipit” sound can be heard when he speeds up and races with the other racers. Thus, the combination of both sounds simply produces a new word: rempit. Rempit is treated as verb and noun, i.e. merempit, dirempit, rempitan and kerempitan. 

 

Factors which Lead to the Rise of Rempitism

1- The misconception of the word ‘brave’.

There’s in every kid’s heart the feeling to crave for unnecessary attention and acknowledgment from the people around them, particularly their parents and friends, so much so they’d do almost everything that may catch their eyes. To ride their bikes speedily, skilfully and bravely like a cowboy mounting a stallion is taken as cool and heroic by them. Additionally, these unlucky children had always seen their irresponsible fathers who were behind the wheels, ‘heroically’ overtook the other cars and said to the kids, “this is what a real man does, boy”. This wrong action indirectly taught the children a completely different and incorrect meaning of ‘bravery’. Children will always regard their fathers as their heroes, and they will always look up to them. They tend to follow what the elder do. Worst of all, the psychological urge to be praised for bravery is mistakenly converted into illegal actions on the road.

2- The desire to be seen as a grown-up.

“I am already a grown-up, so please don’t treat me like a kid!” a 10-year-old boy was caught yelling and uttering this ironic-yet-ambitious-but-absolutely-stupid statement to his mother after he was being grounded for his kerempitan at the road in front of his school.(Kerempitan is the state where a boy or teenager becomes a Mat Rempit and observes the idea of Rempitism). To tell the Mat Rempits the truth, they are actually trying relentlessly to put up their macho in front of others, but unfortunately, in the wrong place and at the wrong time and through wrong manners. They are just a bunch of immature, despicable, damned douchebags who ought to display their idea of being macho, a disposition that exist in some grown-ups on the road using their cheap bikes.

3- The bad influence from Kamen Rider (not yet scientifically proven).

Kamen Rider is a famous Japanese superhero armed with powerful armoured body suit and a cool superbike in combating evil forces. It is undeniably true that this show has been winning the heart of Malaysian children since their first broadcast in the early 90’s. The thing is, children love the show very much and they can’t help missing a single episode for they might die from frustration if this happens. The epic images of Kamen Riders riding beautifully on their bikes while on their way to take out the monsters are all ingrained in the children’s psyche. The amazement that fills their heart gradually turns out to become a hardcore admiration to the fictional hero; some kids built Kamen Rider costumes on their own using boxes(well that was creative), while some others tend to engage in fights( role-play as Kamen Rider and monsters). However, the worst of all would be the under-aged kids who would go as far as riding their father’s motorcycles to feel the actual sensation of being a Kamen Rider. This habit continued as they become addicted with the esctacy of riding motorcycles while imagining they are Kamen Riders. After several years, they’d change/transform/henshin into Mat Rempits. Yeah, they would. Some Kamen Riders they are now.

4-   Stupidity

This is the strongest factor that leads teenagers to become Mat Rempits. Their own stupidity drags them to be one of a hell damnable member of the society. Yes. They choose to be stupid because they are stupid. 

                                                   A nice masterpiece of Death. Cool.

And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds,) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah), and do good. Truly, Allah loves the good-doers. (Al- Baqarah:195) 

 Repent before its too late. Rempit is not an option.

                                                                                  

Don't Dread Dreams

To become extremely important in a society is some men’s aspiration; the expectation to be extolled by others, to be besieged by a round applause as soon as finishing the last line of a speech in front of thousands of crowd, and to be regarded as a brilliant member of the society. Everyone wants to be successful, and everyone wants to look successful. To depict the meaning of ‘success’ is not hard; denotatively this word means something dreamt that is achieved. Yeah, everybody has a dream, or dreams, but not many were able to turn their dreams into reality, into something that they can really feel and grasp. Dreams are all over the place; in the classroom, at the office, construction sites, in the kitchen and even in sleeps, we always dream! Dream is essential for life. Dream is, for one, the fuel for human to keep moving, to keep reaching and exerting.  Someone must have something in his mind that he really wants to gain and somehow must operate some modes to achieve his dream. The first way to light up your track towards achieving your dream is to implant a strong belief in your brain that you are able to reach it no matter how hard the test will be. You are what you believe you are; your mind generates everything. As long as you can dream, there’s no reason you can’t achieve. Dream on and on and on, till you get through.

Monsters Behind the Wheels

Have you ever encountered these situations while driving?:

- Someone honking you with blaring horn but you  practically knew what he/she barking at?
- Overtaken by a rude driver, with a repulsive expression on his/her face, that" you should not ride like a     tortoise!"? 

Well, you are in Malaysia, and remember, when you are in Malaysia, do like the Malaysians do:HONK!!!

I feel compelled to write about the bad habits of Malaysian drivers. It's a real shame that people who are well-known for being polite and courteous are the exact opposite the moment they are behind the wheel. Worst of all, reckless drivers may cause the death of an innocent pedestrian or a law-abiding motorist.

There are impatient drivers who honk when they are caught in traffic jams. What's the point of doing that when others in front are in the same predicament? While vehicles in another lane inch along, these impatient drivers jump the queue by switching lanes. When their vehicles cannot be negotiated into the limited space available, traffic is held up. What stupidity and inconsideration!

Foolhardy drivers overtake at road bends when they are unable to see round them. Others overtake along double lines. The risks of causing accidents are very high in such situations.

Then, there are those Malaysians who are always in a rush. They beat traffic lights as if waiting one or two minutes longer would make so much of a difference! They don't seem to care that in those few seconds after the lights have turned red, they could cause an accident.

Vehicles are haphazardly parked on road shoulders. Some are parked facing the wrong direction of traffic flow. Some motorists do not park their vehicles within allotted bays. Their 'car butts' or their trunk extend into the next bay.

Malaysian drivers must learn to respect the rights of other road users. Most of them are discourteous, inconsiderate , and lack civic-consciousness.

                                                                Cool masterpiece huh?

Hello Hell O!

Hi.
I'm here to change the world...err..sorta.
Smell ya later.
*Whoosh*