The Amok of the Malays

Abstract

We are all of us familiar with the expression “to run amuck,” but perhaps comparatively few of us are familiar with the significance of the term in the Eastern Archipelago. Amuck, or, as it is properly spelt Amok, is a Malay word, and means a furious assault, its derivatives, Mengamok and Pengamok respectively, meaning to commit a furious assault and the person who runs Amok.