BANKING ON POETIC COC

Dua tiga kucing berlari,

Mana nak sama si kucing belang,

Dua tiga COC boleh kuhadapi,

Mana nak sama COC Malik sorang!

GEORGETOWN 26 NOVEMBER 2011: It is one thing when banks give interest for deposits in the saving accounts, but it’s quite another when one promised substantial rewards for deposits of hunt entry fee.

One seldom savours the sight of financial institutions on the bandwagon of public hunts; hence full credit must be given to Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) when they explored such marketing avenue, via their BSN SSP Special Edition Treasure Hunt 2011!

With cash and SSP (Sijil Simpanan Premium) up for grab, it was hardly surprising when about 60 teams promptly registered for the event. Such was the joy and prospect of a potential windfall, several hunters who have hung up their hunt clipboards a few years ago, decided to do a ‘Paul Scholes’ U-turn, by coming out of their retirement for one last hurrah.

There was a sea of yellow-attired participants outside the BSN Main Office on the usually-quiet Saturday morning at Macalister Road; each quietly confident of their chances and inconspicuously praying to get a slice of the jackpot. What probably surprised most of them was the appearance of the COCs - Dr Abdul Malik and Ahmad Ismail.

After all, they were the dynamic duo famed for their distinctive questions behind several reputable hunts. Just ask those still nursing injuries from unforgettable events by Penang Motor Sports Club!

For such hunts, these two were almost inseparable, as they have allied their unique knowledge well with their fearsome clue-setting potency. If Dr Malik is the Batman, then Ismail must be his sidekick Robin! If Dr Malik is the Starsky, Ismail is his Hutch.

A medical practitioner by profession, Dr Malik has a keen interest in treasure hunting. However you typically find him on the helm as COC, rarely behind the scene as fellow participant.

Indeed it has been quite some time since Dr Malik last clerked a hunt; still short on creativity but long on his wordy question technique. In this BSN hunt, a total of 27 questions were set; almost all of them were in his trademark pantun (Malay quatrain) style.

As usual, they started with the proclamation that their tulips and questions were of international standard. Of course, it’ll be interesting to find out which other countries around the world set their questions in Malay pantun too!

With four lines of verse for each question, one can’t accuse him for being stingy with clues; but on a closer examination, one may realize that the posers sounded more like verbose pedantic words; rather than witty hints.

Q6

Untuk bergerak tapi berhenti

Di perjalanan warisan ia bersiar,

Bergerak cergas terus mencari

Jangan buat ia terbiar.

Q14

Mencari-cari menjadi tujuan,

Ambil sebiji untuk kandungan,

Allium Sativum punca sekelian,

Terus berjalan sambil berfikiran.

Q25

Kutip ia untuk acara

Cepat cepat menjadi utama

Diperbaiki juga selepas ia,

Berpusing-pusing mencarinya.

Q26

Kutip satu semasa berjalan,

Mengikut ‘Royal Coat of Scotland’

Berfikir dahulu jangan terkilan,

Ambil masa tapi jangan perlahan.

Looking back now, it might be the rhyme for which he is best remembered. Poetic clue-setting it may have been, but it seemed to symbolize his self-perceived superiority in literature. He probably set out to impress the hunters by emulating the poetic prowess of Usman Awang and the probing mind of Sherlock Holmes; but sadly he was neither.

In his attempt to be the master at weaving words into striking phrases, sentences and verses that are of exceptional classical beauty, the poverty of his creativity was laid bare.

His repeated use of synonyms of quick (cepat cepat, jangan perlahan, bergerak cergas, terus berjalan), answer search (lakar nama, cari jawapan, sebut ia, tulis yang perlu dengan cukup, tulis semula, cari jawapan sebelum keluar, tulis jawapan dengan cepat) and the need to think (terus berjalan sambil berfikiran, perah fikiran, berfikir dahulu jangan terkilan) soon began to feel a bit repetitious and tiresome.

His questions sounded more like the words from a nagging poetic housewife; where extraneous phrases were employed to get a simple message across.

Like attentive husbands, the hunters must learn to diligently filter out the unnecessary words and grasp the underlying message. Those who were used to super-cryptic hunts by COCs such as Jayaram Menon and Michael Pang, may have a challenging time, trying to adapt to this one.

This was certainly not a hunt, where one should apply the technique of cryptically analyzing every single word. Had one deciphered in such manner, he’d ended up in a room with padded walls.

“This is surely a brainless exercise” a hunter (who wanted to remain anonymous) wryly commented at the end of the hunt. No doubt the remarks sounded a bit strong, but there were surely rooms for improvement for the COCs. They can start by reading the article A Teaching Moment by JayMen on the importance of Economy.

Undoubtedly it will be wishful thinking to expect them to instantly change their style; after all, they have been composing such diffuse questions for umpteen years!

For newcomers, if all fail, you can always sell them this pantun to get your message across!

Buah nangke di luar pagar,

Ambil galah tolong jolokkan,

Saya hunter baru belajar,

Soalan berjela tolong elakkan