"Hi boss! How are you today boss? Taxi boss?"... from the security guard to the food stall cashier, everybody seems to think that you are the boss in town! Or hum, one of the many bosses at least! Do Malaysians like having bosses that much? I'm not sure but so far I haven't seen anyone calling their real boss this way! Believe me or not but in my country, your boss is probably the person you dislike the most after your mother-in-law. He is the one making you stay overtime, dragging your salary increment or canceling your holidays at the last minute! Calling someone "boss" would even be seen as a sarcastic insult! Something like: "Who do you think your are? The boss or what?"
But here in Malaysia, bosses are so common that we don't know what to do with them anymore! It's like playing a role game! I'm your boss today but tomorrow you will be mine! I'm not sure if it's a left over of the colonial era, a mark of respect to flatter your ego or a salesman trick to get something out of you but this bossmania is quite contagious! The symptoms are showing when you start calling people "boss" yourself! It's extremely tempting while trying to get a bargaining in Chinatown for example! It's like recognizing that the seller is the one with the power and asking him for pity: "cheaper lah, boss!"
But here in Malaysia, bosses are so common that we don't know what to do with them anymore! It's like playing a role game! I'm your boss today but tomorrow you will be mine! I'm not sure if it's a left over of the colonial era, a mark of respect to flatter your ego or a salesman trick to get something out of you but this bossmania is quite contagious! The symptoms are showing when you start calling people "boss" yourself! It's extremely tempting while trying to get a bargaining in Chinatown for example! It's like recognizing that the seller is the one with the power and asking him for pity: "cheaper lah, boss!"
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