Every Malaysian office has its own language. It isn’t BM, English or Mandarin, but a mix of polite phrases that sound harmless and mean something else entirely.
If you’ve ever read a WhatsApp from your boss and felt your stomach drop for no clear reason, this list is for you.
Here’s the boss-to-human dictionary nobody gave you on your first day.
1. “Can you just quickly…”
“Quickly” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Whatever comes after it will take your whole afternoon, plus some of tonight.
2. “Noted with thanks.”
On paper, it’s polite. In reality, your boss is not happy, but has decided not to fight about it today. Today.
3. “Let’s take this offline.”
You’re not in trouble in front of everyone. You’re going to be in trouble privately, in the meeting room, with the door closed.
4. “We are like a family here.”
That’s sweet. It also means the company expects you to reply on Saturdays, attend every makan session and never ask about overtime.
5. “Just a small change only.”
The “small change” is the whole layout, the whole copy and the whole direction. You’re basically starting from zero.
6. “No rush, but…”
There’s always a rush. The deadline was yesterday, and they’re telling you nicely.
7. “Eh, you free ah?”
You were free. After this message, you’re not.
8. “As per my last email.”
They already told you. Please scroll up and read lah.
9. “Can lah, should be okay.”
Nobody has checked anything. Everyone is hoping for the best.
10. “We’ll discuss your increment later.”
“Later” has no date. It might be next quarter, next year or never.
11. “Good effort!”
It’s wrong. Please do it again.
12. “Okay, any other questions? No? Good.”
The meeting is over. Asking a question now will extend it by 45 minutes, and everyone will hate you.
13. “Just checking in on this…”
This is the polite version of “Why is this still not done?”
14. “Tomorrow first thing in the morning ah.”
You’ll get a follow-up message at 11.30pm tonight anyway.
The Bottom Line
To be fair, most bosses aren’t trying to be scary. Malaysians are just raised to avoid saying things directly, so office talk ends up wrapped in layers of politeness. Learn the code, and work gets a little less stressful.
Which one has your boss sent you this week? Tell us in the comments, and tag the colleague who needs this dictionary.
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