by A. Kadir Jasin
When I was in Kedah during the 1950s and 60s, I’d remember that if someone suffered from sores or pus-filled wounds, the go-to medicine then was referred to as “embi” or MB.
In the Kedah Malay dialect, pus-filled wounds are called “meliau.” The term “embi” or MB is an abbreviation for the name of an English pharmaceutical company, May & Baker, founded by John May and William Gerrard Baker in Wandsworth, London, in 1839. Through its early products, May & Baker has a historical connection to treatments for various ailments, including skin conditions like sores.
If my memory serves me well, the medicine was in white tablets. It was mixed with water and applied to the sores or wounds. At that time, it was as famous as Panadol as is today. Back then, I didn’t know much about the medicine other than that it was effective for sores and wounds.
Fast forward 70 years, an online search reveals that the medicine has sulfapyridine. It is an antibiotic used to fight bacteria and is also known by the name M&B 693. Sulfapyridine is no longer used to treat infections in humans today but is still used for animals.
Many older people from my generation, especially the kampung folks, remember MB and have used it to good effect.
Datuk A. Kadir Jasin is a National Journalism Laureate
WE