Glossary
Amah - nursemaid or housekeeper
Attap - straw thatching for roofs
Baju kurung – Malayan traditional woman’s dress
Cheongsam - traditional Chinese-style woman’s dress
Chicks – wooden slatted blinds
Kampong - village or rural settlement
Kebun - gardener
Mem - term used for European women, like ma’am or madam
Missee - European girl
Padang - grassy space for recreation, used for the daily muster on rubber estates
Stengah - whisky and soda – the favoured drink of expat European men
Syce - driver, groom or chauffeur - word imported from India
Tiffin - lunch - word imported from India
Tuan - honorific for addressing European men - sir, lord, boss
Tuan besar - big boss - head of enterprise
BMA - British Military Administration - in force between 1945 and April 1946
CT - c
