COMMENT Each year, we see new and wonderful events occur, like silver coats with golden linings, in a glitzy cavalcade that decorate our vibrant national social-political landscape.

And just like the glittery coats that leave the shine of bright colours in the psyche of those lucky enough to behold them, these events would leave impressions that reinforce and shape our outlook, and give rise to popular euphemisms about life itself, to those unlucky enough to experience them.

These are some of the new euphemisms that have surfaced this year - or updated versions of popular ones:

"I am not named" to replace "it looks like me, sounds like me, but it is not me"

It used to be that when conversations swerved to tales of a person identified positively in an allegation denying his or her culpability, one would recall that infamous phrase, "it looks like me, sounds like me, but it is not me", from that famous video recording linked with alleged judicial tampering.

Now, no more, for the favoured epithets for such characters would be the shorter phrase "I am not named", as per exhortation of innocence by a national leader who was mentioned via a codename in legal proceedings to seize assets, purchased with purloined cash.

Just as the character in the old phrase contended that facial and vocal similarities do not denote identity, so did the national leader argue that if a person was not directly named, despite specific identifying details offered, then there is no culpability to the very criminal allegations made.

MO1 is the new UFO

In the old days when referring to unidentified objects, the most common term used would be UFO, the popular acronym used to describe Unidentified Flying Objects, mostly related to suspected extraterrestrial sightings.

However, in our day and age, when faced with a similar situation involving a mysterious and unidentified figure or object, one would perhaps be more quick to mouth the acronym MO1.

The acronym refers to the fantabulous 'Malaysian Official 1', unnamed, but mentioned 36 times in the United States Department of Justice civil forfeiture suit, which is targeting assets said to be bought with monies stolen from the government investment arm 1MDB, as being a party to the piratical acts.

"Rujuk laporan saya" to substitute for "no comment"

When faced with the loaded questions they have no ready answer for, assailed by the pointed recorders and microphones from the members of the media, the standard reply for politicians, artistes and public figures used to be "no comment".

But in recent months a new phrase has entered the fray, the infamous Malay phrase "Rujuk laporan saya", which translates into "refer to my report" in English.

This was coined by a political party wing leader during a press conference to explain himself, when his own wing's chief and the party leadership had thrown him under the bus, so to speak.

Yellow balloons now represent insults

It has so surfaced that, as per court proceedings and a lodged police report, that to throw yellow balloons at a person or persons now constitutes an act of insult to him or her, or to both.

Thus a dance activist was told off for daring to shower a celebrated couple with yellow-coloured balloons emblazoned with the words "Free Media", "Democracy" and "Justice".

And although she was later acquitted, the tale remains, and "she threw yellow balloons at him", now can't be helped but to literally mean that she insulted him.

"China" now synonymous with "saviour"

The old USSR, and Russia specifically, was known affectionately or not as The Bear, while the United States is popularly called Uncle Sam and China was the Red Chinese Dragon.

But in our day and age when we think of China the country, other than the looming teeth, claws and fiery breath of its military might over the East China Sea, one would think of what China means to the cash-strapped government of Malaysia.

After all it is the Chinese who are helping to shore up the Najib government financially, by snapping up Malaysian government bonds and 'helping' investment arm 1MDB by purchasing assets the government gave it cheap. For that, China is now synonymous with "saviour".

"Jho Low" stands in for "sleight of hand"

One of the phrases to describe what street magicians and thieving pickpockets do is 'sleight of hand', detailing their ability to use their hands to accomplish wondrous things, usually mixing misdirection with dexterity, to move people's valuables for entertainment or self-enrichment.

Revelations in recent times have pointed to one Malaysian thus skilled, at moving mountains of cash it seems, which international investigations claim are via misdirection, duplicate company names and a convoluted series of bank transactions, based on shell companies.

Such that, from now on, when talking about stealthy sleight of hand moves, or magically appearing coins, one would probably equate this to somebody pulling a "Jho Low".

How are you going to get it past Customs? Some may ask, to which the answer would be "I'll Jho Low it, lah".

HAZLAN ZAKARIA is a member of Team Malaysiakini.