We have all encountered this before..........the name of the road.
Some of the names are quite confusing but then again it may not be the
actual road’s name, it could be the person’s perception or how the
person say it. Two amusing incidents come in mind and I thought I would
like to share them with you.
“Lana Lok”
Recently
I visited my mother’s hometown in Sarawak (located in the Borneo
island) called Sibu. My mother always pride herself by mentioning that
the first company she ever worked for was a company located in the main
street of Sibu called “Lana Lok”. From what I understand “Lana Lok” was a
busy street, somewhat like Wall Street in New York or George Street in
Sydney. I never asked her much about “Lana Lok” or the meaning of its
name. I thought it could probably be a name derived from the Iban
language or from some other indigenous group. Even my mother’s village
is called Engkilo which most likely is a name derived from the Iban
language, so no major surprise there.
When we were in
Sibu, I could understand some of the conversation my mother had with her
relatives. They were speaking “Foo Chow” and my understanding of “Foo
Chow” was at best, the beginner’s level. However, suddenly I heard “Lana
Lok” being mentioned in the conversation. So out of curiosity I asked
my Sibu’s relatives where exactly is this road called “Lana Lok” which I
heard so much about. They said it is on the other side of the town and
we will be passing there in a day or two as “Lana Lok” is still one of
the busy roads in Sibu.
One night as we were driving to
the restaurant for dinner, my mother made a casual remark saying that
the old buildings looked familiar and enquired whether this is “Lana
Lok”? The relative who was driving replied that indeed it was. Suddenly I
got excited as I finally get to see the famous “Lana Lok” or the
equivalent of Wall Street. I tried to catch a glimpse from the names in
the various signboards but couldn’t find “Lana Lok” stated
anywhere...........until when we were turning into another road and
there it was, in its big majestic letters that spelt out “Jalan Lanang”.
“Jalan” in the Malay language means “Road”, so the name of that road is
called “Lanang Road”! Finally, the mystery has been solved. All these
years, Lanang Road has been referred to by the local as “Lana Lok” and
for some reason it is so catchy that no one actually bothers to correct
them.
“Jalan Besar”
Many
years ago, I was looking for a shop in a small town called Pandamaran
which is about 40km from Kuala Lumpur. The address given to me was one
“Jalan Besar”. Thinking that Pandamaran is relatively small town, it
should not be a problem for me to find the address. Boy, was I mistaken.
I turn every nook and corner of the town but still couldn’t locate
“Jalan Besar”. Finally, I decided to ask the residents over there but no
one could tell me where “Jalan Besar” is. I finally stopped by the wet
market as who knows the town better than the fruit sellers, the fish
sellers, etc. However, to my surprise, no one knows where “Jalan Besar”
is. Feeling exasperated, I pointed to the road in front and asked one of
them, “What is the name of that road in front of us?”. The guy just
shrugged and said, “I don’t know the name of the road but we all called
it “Tua Loh”. Suddenly, I burst out laughing because you see, “Tua Loh”
in the Hokkien dialect literally means “big road”. Similarly, “Jalan
Besar” in the Malay language also literally means “big road”. My view is
that “Jalan Besar” was the main road or artery of Pandamaran. Since
there are no words to describe “main road (that I know in the Malay
language), the authorities probably just named the road as “Jalan
Besar”. So, “Jalan Besar” it is and probably would remain for a very
long time.
