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An unexpected encounter with shiny motorbikes bearing logos of Polis Diraja Malaysia usually makes the hair of most motorists curl. I believe many of you had this experience of a stern face traffic police eyeing you through his dark sunglasses and asked to see your driver's licence. You searched nervously in your wallet...darn! You forgot your driver's licence. You wanted to give an excuse as diplomatically as possible, so which is the better choice of word...
What is the difference between the root form of lupa and terlupa? A famous function of the prefix 'ter' is to indicate an unintentional act. So to say: " Saya terlupa lesen" implies that you break the law unintentionally whereas " Saya lupa lesen" could give Mr Policeman the impression that you couldn't be bothered about bringing along your licence with you. A common gossip in the coffee shops is the usefulness of duit kopi ( bribe )in this kind of circumstance, so I cannot guarantee leniency even if you say :" Saya TERlupa" instead of " Saya lupa". However, when facing the risk of RM300 maximum fine; you would try your best to beg for mercy, wouldn't you? I would say there is no harm to make your image a bit better by adding a little word 'ter'. After all, that makes a lot of difference even for the boss of Polis Diraja Malaysia.
On September 28, 1998 a man who was the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia appeared in court to defend himself against charges of corruption and sodomy. On that day, the centre of attraction was neither his political prominence nor the controversy leading to his arrest. It was Anwar Ibrahim's black eye and one hand raised pose which became a symbol of the political opposition.
Wikipedia reports:" The black eye was implausibly explained away by the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Rafidah Aziz as being 'self-inflicted' and caused by "pressing a glass over his eyes". Only after a Royal Commission was convened did Rahim Noor (a former chief of Polis Diraja Malaysia )admit that he had administered the beating to Anwar." If it had been an act of "tertumbuk", Mr Rahim would not be fined and sentenced to jail in 2000 and apologized publicly to Anwar in 2005. It's A Coincidence Wan does not deliberately dig out this infamous case : " Saya TERbaca semua ini". Any Malaysian who reads their newspaper daily just cannot help noticing. It is not fun to look specifically for negative information so don't you dare to say: " Wan baca semua ini" grrr!!! It's like meeting the traffic officer of Polis Diraja Malaysia on the road where the only prefix you can use is: " Saya terserempak ( meet accidentally ) dengan polis." When a policeman has no choice about who he encounters, it can be rather scary.
When 'Ter' Doesn't Make A Difference Police officer Abu Bakar and five of his men confronted a man who was running amok in a village brandishing a long machete. The policemen tried to persuade the mad man to cool down and surrender his machete. " We ended up being pursued by him and almost got slashed," said Abu Bakar. At one point, the policemen almost captured the mad man..." but as if possessing extraordinary strength, that man pushed us down with a thud until our bodies were pained and bruised. However, the man was finally apprehended with the assistance of a religious teacher who managed to weaken him." Throughout his career with Polis Diraja Malaysia, Abu Bakar had handled insane persons more than five times.
When 'Ter' is Never in Their Dictionaries The feasome secret police. The KGB of former Soviet Union. The Gestapo under the Nazis. The Stasi of former East Germany. The Stasi listened to telephone conversations round the clock and kept files on a third of the entire population. I shudder to think of strangers knowing all about my phone conversations and even what I have been doing inside the bathroom. No wonder John Koehler in his book Stasi said: " Stasi officers knew no limits and had no shame." For these people they will NEVER say: " Saya terdengar rahsia kamu", it is definitely : " Saya dengar( hear ) rahsia kamu." Fortunately, not all police and hopefully including our Polis Diraja Malaysia are like that. Superlative 'Ter' Since it was Malaysia's preference to look east, may I point to Japan's traditional style of neigbourhood police. This type of policing is so effective that it has been credited as a factor in making Japanese streets safe enough to walk. " The scope of friendly service activity provided by koban officers is legendary: advising on addresses in Japan's largely unnamed streets; lending out unclaimed found umbrellas to commuters caught in showers; ensuring drunken sararimen get the last train home; and counselling on 'citizen's troubles.'" commented Frank Leishman, British lecturer in criminology and longtime resident of Japan. That makes me envious because I can't even walk across the next street without being harassed by my neighbours' dogs. The Malaysian way of complimenting this kind of service is not just baik, but TERbaik ( the best ). Reminder I have only discussed two functions of the affix 'Ter' here. One simple way to remember is you need it when the Polis Diraja Malaysia catches you in the act. You need to make it clear the act is unintentional to present the best image and not the worst. Ha ha!
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