In conjunction with the 61st Merdeka Day, the Ministry of Education organised a short story-writing competition and used the word “certot” to describe the short story of less than 200 words. “Certot” is a newly-made up word, a portmanteau of the words “cerita” (meaning “story”) and “kontot” (meaning “short”). Thus far, it is not yet recognised by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, or DBP for short. DBP is the government body that coordinates the use of the Malay language and Malay-language literature in Malaysia. Besides, there already is an official word for it. This word is “cerpen”, a portmanteau of the word “cerita” and “pendek” (also meaning “short”). However, cerpens are generally longer than 200 words so perhaps certot was invented to emphasis the word limit.
Nonetheless, Malaysians are having a field day making fun of the funny-sounding word. Don’t be surprised though, if “certot” makes it into our collective consciousness. Malaysians are notorious for introducing colourful words into our everyday conversations. The words may have started as slang in certain communities, but have been picked up and are widely used today.
Here are some of the more common and popular ones, with a little background on how they came to be.
Membawang
Bawang means “onion” in Malay. “Membawang” is used to describe a gossip session, said to refer to the activities of old women getting together to cook for a feast and gossiping with each other while together peeling onions in the kitchen. Subsequently, people who indulge in gossip and act like nosey busybodies are “makcik bawang”, meaning “Onion Aunties”.
Onion Aunties – not a term of endearment. Photo by Mali Maeder from Pexels.
What’s interesting is that the general public thinks that this term was coined by someone observing these aunties and applying the term to gossipers in general. In fact, another similar term was already listed in the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka, with similar meaning. “Menggetah Bawang” is the term listed back in 2011 to mean “using hurtful words that offend people”. 
Selamba
Being selamba means you are being mellow and laid-back. It most probably comes from the English word “slumber”. This is probable as Malay teenagers sometime like to spell out English words in Malay spelling in fun, informal settings, such as in exchanges between friends.
Sempoi
Another English-derived word that most probably came from the word “simple” and then skewed to lend a grander meaning to the word. In Malay usage, when one or something is sempoi, it means that thing or person is cool. Like rockstar-cool. Sempoi is a term of honour, indeed.
Used in a sentence: “This chick is really sempoi.” Photo by Pete Johnson from Pexels.
Der
This is simply a short term for brader, which is the colloquial Malay spelling for “brother”. So instead of calling a male buddy “bro”, Malaysians call him “der”. Initially used by the sub-group of Mat Rempits (gang of Malay bikers who illegally race the streets at night), it’s now widely used by most Malaysian youths, usually in a teasing manner to give emphasis to the person.
Sado
You know how young people would call each other silly names? At one point, aimless Malay youths were actually going around calling each other “bodoh”, meaning “stupid”. This twisted term of endearment is then shortened to just “doh”. So instead of calling a dear friend “bro” or “der”, you’d call them “doh”, but only at the end of sentences, as emphasis to a grand statement in the earlier part of your sentence. Example: “The fish was 1 metre long, ‘doh!” Over the years, even younger Malaysian youths using the word “doh” didn’t even know the origins of the word and simply used it on anyone including strangers and their older siblings (so disrespectful! Tsk tsk!).
The very definition of “sado”. Photo from Pixabay.
One day, sometime during the renaissance of the gym lifestyle and bodybuilding was a favourite past time of many Malaysian men and even women, one youth would look at a ripped body builder and exclaim to his bro, “Badan abang tu besar, doh!” Translated, it’s something akin to “That bro’s body is really big, ‘doh!” Over time, besar truncated to just sar. Put “sar” and “doh” together and take away two consonants, and that was how the word “sado” was born. Also how all body builders and gym equipment enthusiasts get the nickname “Abang Sado”.
Mengular
Part of the reason why there are many new words in the colloquial Malay lexicon is because of the usage of normal words as code words. Take the word mengular, which comes from the prefix “meng” (to) and the word “ular” (snake). “To snake” means to evade work and laze around somewhere your boss wouldn’t find you. It might have come from the action of the snake that slithers on the ground, which in a human would mean they’re lying on the floor instead of working. We imagine in its first usage, when someones asks about the disappearance of a colleague, the reply is, “He’s probably off mengular somewhere.” This thus protects the friend from being persecuted and/or judged by the boss and/or the office makcik bawangs.
Official New Malay Words As Acknowledged Or Chosen By DBP
The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka does come out with new words once in a while to adapt to the ever-evolving usage of language. As illustrated below, if you ever need to use formal Malay but are not sure what the correct words would be for certain terms like “fidget spinner”, “keyboard warrior” or “smelfie”, here’s a handy list:-
You’re welcome!
The post Of Certot, Membawang And Other Malaysian Pop Culture Words appeared first on Her Inspirasi.
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