Saturday, January 05, 2019

Fish, Plastic Bags, Ikan Kekek, Malay Folk Song

The ban on plastic bags is a hot topic. Let's keep on highlighting this issue until the world gets rid of them. Below are two inter-related stories and a folk-song about fish dishes.
The above poster was taken off Alexandra Hsieh's Facebook post. Thanks, Alex. 

UP TO 2,000 VIEWS

1)
Fish in plastic or plastic in fish?

Hooray, the world says it's getting rid of plastic bags. It will take some time.  

Lately, I went to one of the biggest Singapore supermarket chains and asked for a small paper bag. I was given instead a small plastic bag. 

"We don't have paper bags!" said the lady in charge. Strange.
(The picture is a representation of a dead whale from ingestion of plastic created by Greenpeace Philippines. Credit: Greenpeace Philippines)


2) Whales eat people or people eat whales?

No, whales swallow plastic bags and bottles.  And, yes, in a certain country, some people are still catching whales to eat.

"We have been eating them for generations! It's in our culture!" says a citizen. 

I love eating fish but definitely not whales. So be careful not only of fish bones but plastic pieces.

3) Ikan Kekek Folk Song:

Here's a Malay folk song I remember that little children sing in kampongs (villages) in the 1960s. It is just as popular today and sung in primary school classrooms in Malaysia and in Malay classes in Singapore.
Ikan Kekek Ma Iloi Iloi: a song for children in Malay. Video from siti fairus.




Ikan Kekek is, according to a website, PONY FISH, pictured above, a favourite fish dish.

4) Songs with Fish titles:

I don't know too many songs about fish in the English language but here are a few:

Fish and Chips - Chuck Berry
Pisces Fish - George Harrison
Saturday Night Fish Fry - BB King

Gone Fishing - Bing Crosby n Louis Armstrong
Fish Song - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Pray For The Fish - Randy Travis

The Fishin' Hole - Andy Griffith
Moby Dick - Frankie Laine
The Down Easter Alexa - Billy Joel

You can improve the list of fish songs. Splash them on.

WE WANT TO EAT FISH NOT PLASTIC. GET RID OF PLASTIC BAGS!!!

1 comment:

MICHAEL BANGAR (GUITARIST, GUEST WRITER OF THIS BLOG) said...

Get rid of plastic bags in the proper way.

From my point, these plastic bags dumped in the ocean nuisance is usually the work of ignorant seafarers.
Especially those from third world countries.

They are barely educated.