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Occasionally, someone will come across a funny location name of a lesser-known street, island, or kampung in Malaysia, and share it with the Internet so we can all have a good laugh
Of course, some of these would already be familiar to people who live in the area. However, many Malaysians from other parts of the country have never come across locations with names so… bizarre. Some of these places have equally unique histories behind their names, which can actually make them seem suitable after all!
Check out these 15 interesting location names in Malaysia that’ll definitely get your attention:
1. Kampung Desa Temu Jodoh, Johor
Image via Traveloka
If Tinder were a village, this would be it.
Behind the name:
This village has a history every bit as romantic as its name. Initially, Kampung Desa Temu Jodoh was a palm oil plantation in an area known as Sungai Lenek. According to mStar, a group of 120 young bachelors aged 18 to 24 were appointed to clear the land in 1973.
Soon after, they were asked to help out a group of young women who were working at a similar land scheme project just a few kilometres from Sungai Lenek. There, the men met and fell in love with the women, and in 1977, 24 couples were married in a mass wedding ceremony.
During the closing speech at the wedding, the then Johor Menteri Besar, Allahyarham Tan Sri Othman Saat, casually gave the village its name, and it has stuck ever since!
2. Kampung Cinta Manis, Pahang
Image via Illuminasi
The Malaysian fairy tale — meeting your spouse at Kampung Desa Temu Jodoh, then travelling to Kampung Cinta Manis for your honeymoon.
3. Jalan Boo Bee, Perak
Image via Flickr
Don’t be suspicious, Jalan Boo Bee, don’t be suspicious.
Behind the name:
According to Rojak Librarian, this street was named after Ng Boo Bee, a millionaire tin miner who helped rebuild almost half of Taiping, Perak, when a massive fire burnt down the entire town in 1880.
4. Pulau Bum Bum, Sabah
Image via MYNEWSHUB
Not to be outdone by Perak, Sabah also came up with an unusual Island name that you wouldn’t find within the covers of a textbook.
5. Pulau Kentut Kecil and Pulau Kentut Besar, Langkawi
Image via PTT Outdoor
Contrary to what their names imply, these islands do not smell like fart.
Behind the name:
According to one legend, there was a wedding between the daughter of Gunung Mat Chin Chang and the son of Gunung Mat Raya. Unfortunately, the bride’s family served the groom half-cooked rice. After eating it, the groom farted… twice. Whether it was one small fart and one large fart, it’s anyone’s guess.
6. Jalan Microwave TV Station, Sabah
Image via u/Karpampuchi (Reddit)
Is this the place to go to claim free appliances?
Behind the name:
It is reputed that the street was given this name because it leads to a nearby hill — TM (Telekom Malaysia) Bukit X — that houses a power station with several telecommunication towers with microwave antennas.
7. Kampung Melaka Pindah, Melaka
Image via CARI Infonet
Melaka, please pindah to my area and bring all your food with you, okay?
Behind the name:
In 1511, Melaka was attacked and defeated by Portuguese armed forces. Datuk Paduka Seri Maharajalela, a prince of the kingdom of Melaka back then, had retreated up Melaka River with his followers, and set up a new village there. Due to this relocation, the new village became known as Kampung Melaka Pindah.
8. Kampung Baru Jumpa, Sabah
Image via Illuminasi
I ‘baru jumpa’ this signboard and kampung.
Behind the name:
According to Song and Stories, this village was once populated by the Lundayeh (Lun Bawang) community, many of whom migrated from Indonesia to settle on this land. Despite living a nomadic lifestyle and never having met each other, they kept telling one another, ‘Di sini baru kita jumpa’ which means, ‘This is where we finally met’. Hence why they named this place Kampung Baru Jumpa.
9. Kampung Atas Tol, Terengganu
Image via Flickr
Anyone living within the vicinity of a highway toll would shudder at the thought of staying above one.
Behind the name:
Legend has it that the settlers in this area lived in groups on a large and sandy land that was unsuitable for agricultural works. The land was referred to as ‘atas itu’ or ‘atas tu’, but was changed to ‘Atas Tol’ when the first British advisor took over the land in 1924.
10. Kampung Tok Imam Lapar, Terengganu
Image via Himpunan Cerita Lawak
This is your sign to feed the poor, starving imam.
Behind the name:
Several sites claim that the name of this village originates from the story of a trader, who was sailing upstream from Kuala Sungai Telemong to sell rice and salted fish to the villagers along the river bank. When he stopped at Pengkalan Rengas Sembilan, he went to a mosque near the riverbank in search of food, for he was hungry.
There, he found an imam who was memorising the Quran. He told the imam that he was hungry, but as the imam was engrossed in memorising the Quran, he did not notice them. The trader then returned to his boat and travelled down the river. However, as he was still hungry, he stopped at another jetty and went to a mosque.
Interestingly, the mosque turned out to be the same one, where the same imam was still memorising the Quran. The traders then told other villages about his two encounters with the imam, who continued to ‘laper’ (memorise) the Quran instead of feeding him.
11. Kampung Penajis, Negeri Sembilan
Image via Automology
Ask anyone living here, and they’ll tell you their kampung isn’t as terrible as its name.
12. Persiaran Kerjaya streets that are named after careers
Image via Waze
Some of the streets here have names like Jalan Arkitek, Penulis, Penerbit, Kontraktor, Peguam, Jurutera, Jurubina, Jurunilai, Hakim, Pensyarah, Pelukis, Kartunis, Pemberita, Polis, Askar, Tentera, Menteri, Senator, Usahawan, Perpustakawan, and Penyelidik.
If you’ve just completed SPM and are facing a career crossroads, try heading to Persiaran Kerjaya and follow the signs until you stumble upon the right path.
13. Pekan Menggatal, Sabah
Image via @AkuSabah (Twitter)
Believe me, I was scratching my head for a long time trying to figure this one out.
Behind the name:
According to Wikipedia, the name ‘Menggatal’, or ‘Manggatal’ is derived from two English words, ‘mango’ and ‘town’ during the British North Borneo Company era. The word ‘town’ evolved into ‘tal’, and this area was referred to as ‘Mango Town’ by the British colonials due to the abundance of mangoes grown by the native Dusuns and the Chinese Hakka community. Since then, the town has been renamed ‘Menggatal’.
14. Kampung Permatang Tiga Ringgit, Penang
Image via Illuminasi
I’d move to this place if everything here costs RM3.
15. Sungai Sungai, Sabah
Image via Google Maps
Apparently, someone had one job… and got tired of it real fast.