Bunga Dedap

B.Malaysia

“Laksana bunga dedap, merah ada berbau tidak”

"Like the coral flower: Red, yes. Fragrance, no.” Previously this saying refers to a beautiful female of bad manners. Kamus Dewan these days tries to tone down the gender-biased tone by referring to an ill-mannered good-looking PERSON instead of a female.

As for the literal flower, the Kamus Dewan actually refers to “dedap batik”, which you can read more in my July 31, 2007 newsletter.

If it’s only "dedap”, here it is…

“Hey, what a tall Christmas tree?” was my impression of the bright red blossoms of the dedap tree. The tree was almost two storey high and very beautiful when the flowers are in full bloom. Quite a few streets including one in Kota Kinabalu is named after this flower.

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