Word origins

• mixed riceRice sold with a combination of other cooked foods from a stall.
• moonratA gymnure, especially the greater gymnure, Echinosorex gymnura.
• movement control orderAny of a series of national quarantine and cordon sanitaire measures imposed by the Malaysian government to halt the spread of COVID-19.
• mukimA level of administrative division used in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Singapore.
• musangThe Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), of South and Southeast Asia up to the Wallace Line.
• MyKadan identity card carried by all Malaysian citizens, that is also used for electronic payments for public transport.
• nacodahThe captain of a boat or other vessel.
• nasi ambengA Malay rice platter consisting of an assortment of meat and vegetable dishes, usually shared among four or five people.
• nasi gorengIn Malaysian and Indonesian cookery: a dish of savoury fried rice with a variety of ingredients including meat (occasionally also fish) and a sliced omelette or fried egg.
• nasi lemakA fragrant rice dish cooked with coconut milk and pandan leaf, commonly found in Malaysia and neighbouring areas with significant Malay populations.
• national schoolA type of primary school where Malay is the medium of instruction.
• national secondary schoolA government-funded or government-aided institution that provides secondary education using the Malay language as the primary medium of instruction.
• national-type schoolSynonym of vernacular school.
• Negara Brunei DarussalamThe full name of the nation of Brunei.
• Negeri SembilanA state in western Malaysia. Capital: Seremban.
• Orang LautAny of several seafaring ethnic groups and tribes living around Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian Riau Islands.
• orankayIn the Malay Archipelago, a person of distinction, a chief or noble.
• otak-otakGrilled fish cake wrapped inside a banana leaf; a popular snack food in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore.
• pakatTo conspire; to collude.
• Pangkal PinangA city, the provincial capital of the Bangka Belitung Islands, Indonesia.
• pantangtaboo; ritual prohibition
• pantunSynonym of pantoum.
• pasar malamA night market.
• Pasir RisA town in the eastern part of Singapore.
• PataniA historical region in southern Thailand, on the northern Malay Peninsula.
• patchriA Eurasian dish of seasoned fried aubergine.
• pawangA Malay shaman.
• PERHILITANDepartment of Wildlife and National Parks, an organisation set up by the Malaysian government to preserve wildlife and national parks in Peninsular Malaysia.
• petaistink bean, bitter bean (Parkia speciosa)
• piculA traditional South and East Asian unit of weight, based upon the load of a shoulder pole and varying by place and over time but usually standardized at about 60 kg.
• pikulA surname.
• pondanTransvestite, ladyboy
• potong ice creamA cuboidal serving of ice cream sliced from a larger block.
• pulasanThe fruit of the tropical tree Nephelium ramboutan-ake (syn. N. mutabile)
• Pulau BraniPulau Brani (an island of the Central Region, Singapore)
• Pulau TekongAn island of the North-East Region, Singapore, which is currently used as a military base.
• rabakOut of control, messed up; (by extension) terrible.
• rabzSynonym of rabak (“out of control, messed up”).
• ranjauSynonym of punji (“sharpened stick set in a pit etc. as a trap”).
• renticeAn access path cleared through vegetation to facilitate mineral exploration or the construction, safe operation and maintenance of power transmission lines or pipelines.
• rilekTo relax; to chill out or loiter, doing nothing in particular.
• rimau dahanThe Sunda clouded leopard.
• roti canaiAn Indian-influenced flatbread found in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
• roti prataSynonym of roti canai.
• Sabak BernamA district of Selangor, Malaysia.
• sama-samaThe same; identical.
• samsengA thug; a gangster.
• sapanWood of a timber tree of species Biancaea sappan (syn. Caesalpinia sappan) that also produces a red dye.
• sapi-utanThe wild ox of Celebes.
• saputo eat up
• sawahA rice paddy.
• Seberang PeraiA city in Penang, Malaysia, consisting of the peninsular part of Penang. City centre: Butterworth.
• seladangThe Malayan gaur.
• selekehSlovenly, unkempt.
• senangRelaxed, easy (of a job, etc.)
• sengetAskew, uneven, not straight.
• sepak takrawA sport of Southeast Asia, in which a small rattan ball is kicked back and forth over a net.
• serayameranti
• Shah AlamThe capital city of Selangor, Malaysia.
• shiokDelightful, pleasurable.
• siamangA large black gibbon, Symphalangus syndactylus, from Sumatra.
• SingaporizeTo make or become like Singapore.
• sirihA vining plant of Sumatra, whose leaves may be chewed with betel nuts or used medicinally to shrink the vagina after childbirth.
• songketA type of cloth made of silk or cotton interwoven with metallic threads which form intricate patterns and motifs.
• songkokAn Asian cap resembling a fez, worn mostly by male Muslims.
• sotongSquid; cuttlefish.
• stengahA drink of whisky and soda.
• suka-sukaAs one pleases, whenever, on a whim; freely and without regard for future consequences.
• sumpahTo promise; to earnestly swear that something is true.
• sumpitThe poison dart used in the sumpitan, or Malay blowpipe.
• sumpitanThe sumpit.
• surauA small mosque or other Islamic assembly building in parts of Sumatra and the Malay peninsula.
• syairMalay poetry that is made up of four-line stanzas
• Tanah MerahA district in Kelantan, Malaysia.
• Tanjong KatongA residential neighbourhood and a subzone of Marine Parade in the Central Region of Singapore.
• Tanjung AruA sub-district of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
• tapaiA traditional Asian food made from fermented carbohydrate, such as rice or cassava.
• teh tarikAn Indian-style hot drink made from black tea with condensed milk or evaporated milk, poured back and forth between two vessels to give it a frothy top.
• tekanTo bully or treat harshly, to punish (especially in military contexts).
• telekungA prayer garment, usually worn by Southeast Asian Muslim women, consisting of two pieces: a loosely-draped one-piece hijab that extends to the knees and a long skirt that hides the feet.
• Telok BlangahA subzone of Bukit Merah in the south of Singapore.
• tembakto guess the answer to a multiple-choice question
• temenggongA high-ranking official in Malay states, typically in charge of the police or armed forces.
• TenasserimA river in southern Burma.
• terapArtocarpus elasticus
• terbalikUpside-down; inverted.
• tidapathyA state of total indifference; a condition of not caring about something.
• tingkatTiffin container
• tokay geckoA species of gecko native to Southeast Asia, Gekko gecko.
• tombakA type of goblet drum used heavily in Persian music.
• tompangTo have one's items carried by another; to include items as part of a trip taken by another.
• tongkangA kind of light wooden boat used in the early 19th century to carry goods along rivers in Maritime Southeast Asia.
• totokOf pure or unmixed foreign descent, especially in colonial Southeast Asia.
• trepangSynonym of sea cucumber.
• tudungheadscarf, especially a form of the hijab worn among Muslim women
• ulubalangIn parts of Asia: a chosen warrior; a champion.
• ungkaA kind of gibbon, the siamang.
• ungka-putiThe agile gibbon.
• urutA traditional Malay massage which involves soft-tissue manipulation of the whole body to alleviate different types of conditions and ailments.
• warungA type of small family-owned business — often a casual, usually outdoor restaurant (in both countries) or convenience store (in Indonesia).