The Malay's Proverb

The Definition of Malay Proverb – Peribahasa Hussin Bin Sarif, PhD IPGM Kampus Tun Hussein Onn, Batu Pahat, Johor. Abdul Samad Ahmad (1966, 1) contended that the Malays had been using all kinds of language patterns which are to be found in their everyday speech before they got to know about alphabets and started to write. This kind of language forms were arranged with words and patterns which become known as bidalan, pepatah, petitih,peribahasa, perbilangan, tamthil, ibarat, kiasan, perumpamaan and the like. These proverbial sayings were normally used to conclude their arguments as they were meaningful, neat and appropriate. Peribahasa was invented through the experiences and observations of the old Malay society of their surroundings and they were then passed on from one generation to the following one. According to Abdullah Hussain (1991, vii), peribahasa came from three sources. The first source was the rakyat jelata (folk), who created peribahasa through their living experience. The second source was from those who were arif bijaksana (people who are knowledgeable and learned), who uttered the phrases as a result of their renungan (contemplation). The third source was derived from the kitab suci (sacred books). According to Za’ba (1965, 165): “Peribahasa itu segala susunan cakap yang pendek yang telah melekat di mulut orang ramai semenjak beberapa lama oleh sebab sedap dan bijak perkataannya, luas dan benar tujuannya, dipakai akan dia jadi sebutansebutan oleh orang sebagai bandingan, teladan dan pengajaran