more idioms

[Waruno Mahdi]

From: K.St. Pamuntjak, N. St. Iskandar, A.Dt. Madjoindo,
      1953, "Peribahasa", tjet. ke-6. Balai Pustaka No. 1504.
      Djakarta: Kem. PP dan K.

nr. 18. Air cucuran atap jatuhnya ke pelimbah juga
       (water dropping from roof fall in gutter anyway)
       i.e. the apple falls not far from the tree

nr. 28. Air beriak tanda tak dalam
       (rippling water is sign it's not deep)
       i.e. an empty ton resounds louder than a filled one....
       (empty head makes for bigger talk...)

nr. 30. Air jernih ikannya jinak
       (clear waters have tame fish)
        an orderly governed country has a peaceful population
       (a good hint to a certain government?)

nr. 35. Air tenang menghanyutkan
       (quiet waters wash away)
        said of person with calm and quiet demeanor who
        gets a lot of things done, without much ado.

etc., etc.

nr. 2736. Zaman beralih musim bertukar
         (Times change, seasons follow another)
          panta rhei

As you see, the structure is not at all rare in Indonesian/Malay idioms.
Note, the authors are Minangkabau, and some of the material is actually
from Minangkabau and translated into Malay/Indonesia. But this is very
much in good old Balai Pustaka tradition, the editorial team of which,
particularly before the war, was in the majority Minangkabau.....
(abbreviations in the author names: St = Sutan, Dt = Datuk, these
are standard openers of Minangkabau titulary "gelar"-s)

I also found a thinner publication:

Aman [single name], 1970, Limaratus Pepatah Untuk Peladjar,
     tjet. ke-17. Balai Pustaka No. 1727. Djakarta

nr. 124. Belalang telah menjadi elang
        (locust has become eagle)
         lowly person has made his way up

nr. 149. Biduk lalu kiambang bertaut
        (boat passes, the carpet of floating vegetation closes in
                      again in its wake)
         said of a brief quibble among friends or close relatives,
         the storm is over, the sun comes out again.....

nr. 435. Raja adil raja disembah, raja tak adil raja disanggah
        (a just king is a revered king, an unjust king is a
                                                 disobeyed king)
         Now who would that remind me of......

nr. 499. Tukang tidak membuang kayu
        (the carpenter doesn't throw away wood)
         said of a good organizer or leader, who finds the appropriate
         task for each and every person in the team he leads, each with
         their own different talents, strengths and weaknesses.....
        [at least, that's the interpretation given in the book]

There's much more, but this probably gives a representative impression.

Regards to all,    Waruno





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