Osmosis Berbalikan.!!!

Yesterday I was attending a seminar in a 5-star hotel in Penang. Great place, food and setup. But something strike my attention. The label in the complimentary water bottle from the hotel says "Osmosis Berbalikan". I turn the bottle to the other site and see the description in English that says "Reverse Osmosis". Suddenly my love for the national language burst up and I got very patriotic and pursuit for answer started.

In my entire schooling life, I had never heard the word "Berbalikan" in the national language. Although the word "Berbalikan" seems derived from the word "Balik" which means "Return", but the word "Berbalikan" was never thought in my schooling days or maybe I did not pay attention to my language teacher. Anyway, I don't dare to rate myself as a subject matter expert in national language and literature.

I was wondering whether the word "Berbalikan" is now an official word recognised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the national language and literature organization) because I want to start using it immediately....e.g. Encik, Tolong berbalikan kereta anda (Mister, please reverse your car).

Out of curiosity, I decided to do some finding. As usual, the first place to go is to google for the word "Osmosis Berbalikan". Only 1 site was found. It is the site with the picture of the same item that I saw. Then I decided to go to Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka website and do a search there. To my surprise, the return feedback was zero.



I decided to try to google again but this time using only the word "berbalikan" and finally I discovered that it is an Indonesian word which means "be the opposite". Still it sounds so weird to describe "Reverse Osmosis" in the national language.

I am still puzzle how on earth someone can approve such label design especially for a 5-star hotel. I hope I am wrong and that the word "Osmosis Berbalikan" really exist. Till then my curiosity will never end....... :-) Hello sir, do you need a "Be the Opposite Osmosis" water?

Have a great weekend.