Yes! Today I stumbled upon a new word — “kakistocracy.” And where did I learn it from? None other than PAS Secretary-General Takiyuddin Hassan, quoted in a Malaysiakini article titled “PAS: Govt can’t wash hands over Meta’s action against Mkini” (https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/756781).
According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/kakistocracy), it means: “a government ruled by the least suitable, able, or experienced people in a state or country.” Wah, heavy stuff.
But here’s the thing. When I first saw the word, my Malaysian brain didn’t think politics at all. I just saw “kakis.” Straight away, I imagined someone saying: “Eh bro, call your kakis to join us!” In Manglish, “kakis” simply means your gang, your buddies, your “makan” partners. Nothing high-level about it — just “teh tarik”, nasi lemak, and a good gossip session.
So while the world sees kakistocracy as bad governance, I see kakis-"tocracy" as a government run by your best friends. Honestly, that sounds a lot more fun.
That word actually reminded me of another classic Malaysian gem: “gostan.” It’s what we say when reversing cars or lorries. But according to World of Buzz (https://worldofbuzz.com/msians-say-gostan-for-reversing-cars-but-where-did-the-word-come-from-we-find-out/), it didn’t start in Malaysia at all. The word comes from the English naval command “go astern” (or “go stern”), which was used for ships. Over the years, Malaysians did what we do best — chop it short, simplify it, and boom: “gostan”. Because honestly, who has time for long words? Waste of time lah.
Ah yes, the world-famous Malaysian “lah.” Where did this little word come from? Most likely from Mandarin — as in ‘chi lah’ (eat lah) — mixed with Malay influence from words like “pergilah” (do go) and “marilah” (come here). Today, “lah” has become the crown jewel of Manglish (Malaysian English) and Singlish (Singapore English).
But “lah” isn’t just a random filler. It’s a tone-setter. The magic of “lah” is how it changes the whole vibe of a sentence:
- “Come lah, don’t be shy.” (friendly)
- “Enough lah!” (impatient)
“Don’t worry lah.” (reassuring)
Only in Malaysia can one tiny syllable carry so much attitude. The word lah is so iconic that it was even immortalized in a Tamil song from the Indian movie Kuruvi, which featured video shots filmed in Malaysia. That’s how famous we are for our lah!
In a crowded coffeeshop or food court, you don’t always see fancy “Reserved” signs on tables. Nope — in true Malaysian style, sometimes all it takes is a humble packet of tissue. That little packet is enough to “chope” a table before the hungry crowd arrives. What an innovative way to book your spot! Chope is a unique one-word syllabus that basically means: “That’s my table, bro.”
I once decided to level up my game and “chope” my table with a mineral water bottle instead. Genius, right? Well… not really. Someone took the opportunity to “shoot” my bottle, and I ended up without a table and without my drink. By the way, “shoot” in Manglish means stealing, not firing a gun. So yes, my poor bottle got shot, and my makan plans got cancelled.
“Lor” is another classic Manglish word that perfectly shows resignation or acceptance. For example: “When my wife gets angry, I just say sorry lor — cheaper than buying flowers and definitely easier than arguing.” Or: “I went to the gym once, muscles never came out but the fat still here lor.” Classic, right?
And then there’s the famous “Aiyo.” A truly Malaysian expression for shock, sympathy, or annoyance. Like: “Aiyo, your driving so scary until Waze also ask to get out of the car.” Or even better: “Aiyo, your cooking so spicy even the devil ask for ice water.”
At the end of the day, Manglish isn’t just about words — it’s about the attitude, creativity, and humour that make us uniquely Malaysian. From kakis-tocracy to gostan, from lah to chope, and of course the timeless aiyo — we’ve basically invented a whole language that outsiders might need subtitles for.
But for us? No problem lah. We understand perfectly — because sometimes only Manglish can say it best.
Chris (protocall22@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.