- 56. Jong pechah yu sarat.
"When the junk is wrecked the shark has his fill." It is an ill wind that blows no one any good.
- 57. Chikil berhabis lapuk bertedoh.
"The last degree of stinginess is to leave the mould (mildew) undisturbed."
- 55. Diam ubi lagi kintal
- Diam besi lagi sentil.
"The yam remains still and increases in bulk; iron lies quiet and wastes away the more." Another version of the same proverb is "Diam ubi berisi, diam besi ber-karat-karat."
The meaning is easily gathered from the following passage from the Hikayat Abdlullah (p. 245): "Maka diam-lah iya (Tuan Raffles) bahra bukan-nia diam penggali berkarat, melainkan diam ubi adania berisi." "Mr. Raffles remained silent, but his silence was not that of the spade which lies rusting, but that of the yam which is adding to its contents." Favre in his dictionary (tit. goli) seems to have somewhat misunderstood this passage.
- 59. Di chobit paha kanan kiri pun sakit juga.
"If the right thigh is pinched pain will also be felt in the left." A man may be made to suffer by something done to a near relation. In Malay countries it is common to influence a man by threats of injury to his family; absconding criminals and slaves are sometimes induced to return and surrender themselves by the knowledge that their wives and children or other near relations have been seized and are undergoing ill treatment.
- 60. Di tepuk tangan kanan tiada akan membunyi.
"To clap hands with the right hand only will not produce any sound." The combined action of both parties to an agreement is necessary, if it is to be carried out properly. If one is willing, and the other unwilling, no result will be produced.
