A mukim is a type of

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

used in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. The word ''mukim'' is a

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

word: (meaning ''resident''). The closest English translation for mukim is

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

Usage

Brunei

, a mukim is the immediate subdivision of a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

(). The equivalent English word for 'mukim' is 'township'. There are 38 mukims in Brunei. Each mukim is an administrative area made up of several ( Malay for "village"). A mukim is headed by a (Malay for "headman"), which is an elected office. The number of mukims in each of the districts in Brunei is as follows: The smallest mukim by area is Mukim Saba in the

Brunei-Muara Brunei-Muara District ( ms, Daerah Brunei dan Muara; Jawi: برونائی-موارا ضلع) or simply Brunei-Muara is one of the four districts of Brunei. It has the smallest area among the four districts, with , yet is the most populous, w ...

District. The largest mukim by area is Mukim Sukang in the Belait District. The last change in the mukim boundaries was in the late 1990s when Mukim Kumbang Pasang was merged into Mukim Kianggeh and Mukim Berakas was divided into Mukim Berakas A and Mukim Berakas B. The number of mukims remained at 38.

Indonesia

, ' means 'a place to stay' or 'the one who stays', while means 'a settlement'. The term ''mukim'' is used only in

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...

as a subdivision of a

. A mukim contains several villages.

Malaysia

, a ' can either be a subdivision of a ' (

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

) or a subdivision of an autonomous sub-district ('), as per Section 11(c) of the National Land Code 1965. However, in Putrajaya the designation ' is not used; the term ' (Malay for "precinct") is used instead. The northern state of Perlis, due to its small size, is not divided into , but directly into . In

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in t ...

, the term ' corresponds to the ' level in other states.

Singapore

, a Mukim is a survey district. There are 34 Mukim survey districts in Singapore, as well as 30 Town Subdivision survey districts. The Town Subdivision survey districts are located in the city area, while the Mukim survey districts are located in the outer regions surrounding the former.

References