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 t ...

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 Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

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 t ...

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 ide ...

. However, it was also originally a loanword in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

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, C ...

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

(). The equivalent English word for 'mukim' is 'township'. There are 38 mukims in Brunei. Each mukim is an administrative area made up of several (

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 Mukim Saba is a mukim in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei. It is part of Kampong Ayer, the traditional stilted settlements on the Brunei River in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The population was 1,000 in 2016. It encompasses the village of Kamp ...

in the Brunei-Muara District. The largest mukim by area is

Mukim Sukang Mukim Sukang is a mukim in Belait District, Brunei. The population was 169 in 2016. Geography The mukim is located in the interior part of Belait District. It borders Mukim Bukit Sawat to the north, Mukim Rambai of Tutong District to the no ...

in the

Belait District Belait District (; Jawi: دأيره بلأيت), or simply Belait (), is the largest as well as the westernmost district in Brunei. It has an area of and the population of 69,062 as of 2016. The administrative town is Kuala Belait, located at ...

. The last change in the mukim boundaries was in the late 1990s when Mukim Kumbang Pasang was merged into

Mukim Kianggeh Mukim Kianggeh is a mukim in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei. The population was 8,228 in 2016. The mukim encompasses Pusat Bandar, the city centre of the capital Bandar Seri Begawan. Name The mukim is named after Kampong Kianggeh, one of t ...

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 as a subdivision of a

. A mukim contains several

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

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 Perlis, ( Northern Malay: ''Peghelih''), also known by its honorific title Perlis Indera Kayangan, is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. Located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it borders the Thai provinces ...

, 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 th ...

, 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