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Christine B.N. Chin
1998
Glossary
Malay words used in text:
| adat | customary law |
| air liur | saliva |
| ayam goreng | fried chicken |
| Ali-Baba | the symbiotic financial partnership between a Malay (Ali) and a Chinese (Baba) |
| Bahasa Melayu | Malay language |
| balik kampung | go back to the village |
| bangsa | race or nation |
| bodoh | stupid |
| Borang J | J form (personal income tax form) |
| Bumiputera | sons of the soil |
| dakwah | proselytizing activities; individuals and/or groups involved in such activities |
| darah keturunan Kling | descended from Indians |
| darah keturunan Arab | descended from Arabs |
| Datuk | honorary title given to Malaysians for service to the country; grandfather |
| Dewan Rakyat | House of Representatives |
| Dewan Negara | Senate |
| duduk dirumah saja | merely sit at home |
| duit kopi | coffee money; bribe |
| dulang | tray; dulang washing is method of salvaging tin ore |
| empat ekor | four-digit lottery game |
| goyang kaki | to sway one’s legs (connote laziness) |
| habis | finished |
| haram | unclean |
| Hari Raya Puasa | Raya holiday (Ramadan month) |
| hamba | slave |
| hamba orang | someone else’s slave |
| hikayat | stories |
| jalan bawah | underground road; illegal route |
| jual | to sell |
| kafir-mengafir | to be infidel-ized |
| kangkung with belachan | vegetable cooked with shrimp paste (sambal kangkung) |
| konfrontasi | confrontation |
| kerja kebun | to farm |
| kuali | wok |
| Melayu Jati | “true” Malays |
| Minah Karan | metaphor for a woman who seeks thrills/excitement |
| mufti | interpreters of Islamic law |
| pakat | to plot |
| pasar malam | open-air night markets in neighbourhoods |
| raja/Sultan | Malay ruler |
| rakyat | subjects, people |
| rendah | low; short |
| rendang | dry curry |
| sampah | garbage |
| sembahyang | to pray |
| style mesti ada, duit tak apa | must have style over and above all else |
| taikong | illegal Indonesian labour brokers |
| tak buat apa-apa | am not or did not do much |
| tinggi | tall; high |
Chinese (Cantonese) words used in text:
| amah | single, celibate Chinese domestic workers of the 1930s; servant |
| Bun Mui | Filipina girl-slave/servant |
| chi mui | sisters |
| fong chai | a small room or a flat |
| Ku Por Uk | old maids’ house/grandaunt’s house |
| kung yan | “work people”; workers; servants |
| mang sui | life’s destiny |
| mui tsai | girl-slave |
| Po Leung Kuk | refuge for run-away girl-slaves |
| si tau | boss |
| sor hei | to comb one’s hair into a bun at the back to the head |
| sui hak | “water guest”; male labor broker |
| tai kor tai | cellular hand-phone |
| yan lay mui | Indonesian girl-slave/servant |
Other words used in text:
| kangany | Indian labor recruiter who also worked in the plantation/estate |
| Kling | pejorative term for South Indians in colonial Malaya |
| balikbayan or maka-abroad | Filipino returnees from overseas employment |
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