I came across an article on this title whilst reading Malaysian Insider. It is an article by Zaidel Baharuddin. Interesting read, this.
I remember clearly having to call someone abang when I was 9 years old. It was the morning after the wedding of my cousin, Kana (real name Saadiah Mohamad) to Abu Bakar b Sidek (may Allah bless his soul). I had to call him down for breakfast. Malu sesangat. My elder brothers are just Long and Ngah to me. And my third elder brother is just Enal. Even my elder sisters didn't carry the word kakak before their names. So to have to address this new cousin-in-law as abang was like such a big thing for me then. That was also the year another cousin got married. Well, boys or men were not immediately in my line of vision then..
My two older sisters got married when I was 19. Boys were already in the picture - penfriends, boys that came to our school to promote events at school (wonder if such thing still happens today, I mean students from other schools that come to promote their school events) and later the form six years at High School. So by the time my sisters got married, it was easier to call my brothers-in-law, abang. One, was much much older abang and the other one a younger abang but abang nevertheless.
My own husband? He is not abang or abaaang to me. Just Ja, or yang of the word sayang. It was never yaaang either...
