Colonial commerce and community

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• entrepôt – 转口港 (zhuǎnkǒu gǎng) – pelabuhan entrepot: a port where goods are imported, stored, sorted and re-exported to other markets without substantial processing (Chapter A.IV).¹
• free port – 自由港 (zìyóu gǎng) – pelabuhan bebas: a port open to ships of all nations where no customs duties are levied on goods landed or shipped (Chapter A.II).
• re-export – 转口 (zhuǎnkǒu) – eksport semula: the export of goods previously imported, usually after storage or sorting, which formed the core of the entrepôt trade.²
• Straits Settlements – 海峡殖民地 (Hǎixiá Zhímíndì) – Negeri-Negeri Selat: the British territories of Penang, Malacca and Singapore, administered together and later governed as a Crown colony (Chapter B.I).³
• Crown colony – 直辖殖民地 (zhíxiá zhímíndì) – tanah jajahan mahkota: a colony governed directly by the British Crown through the Colonial Office (Chapter B.I).
• East India Company – 东印度公司 (Dōng Yìndù Gōngsī) – Syarikat Hindia Timur: the English chartered company under whose authority Raffles founded the British settlement at Singapore (Chapter A.II).
• agency house – 代理行 (dàilǐ háng) – rumah agensi: a European merchant firm that bought and sold goods on commission and financed planters and traders (Chapters A.IV and B.II).⁴
• exchange bank – 汇兑银行 (huìduì yínháng) – bank pertukaran: a colonial bank that specialised in financing foreign trade and dealing in foreign exchange (Chapter B.II).⁵
• comprador – 买办 (mǎibàn) – kompradur: a local intermediary employed by a foreign bank or firm to deal with Chinese clients and guarantee their credit (Chapter B.II).
• chettiar – 齐智人 (Qízhì rén) – ceti: a member of the Tamil Nattukottai Chettiar banking community, which lent to traders, planters and smallholders (Chapter B.II).
• godown – 货仓 (huòcāng) – gudang: a warehouse in a port, especially along the Singapore River, for storing goods in transit.
• junk trade – 帆船贸易 (fānchuán màoyì) – perdagangan jong: the seasonal trade between southern China and Singapore carried by Chinese sailing vessels until the age of steam (Chapter A.IV).
• revenue farm – 饷码 (xiǎngmǎ) – pajakan hasil: a monopoly right sold by government to a private bidder to collect revenue, especially from opium and spirits (Chapter A.II).
• kongsi – 公司 (gōngsī) – kongsi: originally a partnership or brotherhood of Chinese miners or traders sharing profits, later the general Chinese word for a company (Chapter A.V).
• clan association – 宗乡会馆 (zōngxiāng huìguǎn) – persatuan suku kaum: an association that unites Chinese immigrants by surname, dialect or place of origin for mutual help (Chapter A.V).
• huiguan – 会馆 (huìguǎn) – persatuan daerah: a Chinese association based on a common native place or dialect, which provided welfare, schools and dispute resolution (Chapter A.V).⁶
• secret society – 私会党 (sīhuìdǎng) – kongsi gelap: a Chinese sworn brotherhood that governed parts of immigrant life outside colonial control until the colonial government suppressed it (Chapter A.V).
• xinyong – 信用 (xìnyòng) – kepercayaan: personal creditworthiness based on reputation, which allowed Chinese merchants to lend without formal security (Chapter A.V).
• guanxi – 关系 (guānxì) – hubungan: a network of personal relationships based on mutual obligation, which supports business dealings among Chinese merchants.
• qiaopi – 侨批 (qiáopī) – kiriman wang perantau: a combined letter and remittance sent home by overseas Chinese through specialised firms (Chapters A.V and B.V).⁷
• remittance house – 侨批局 (qiáopījú) – syarikat kiriman wang: a firm that collected remittances and letters from migrants and delivered them to families in China (Chapter A.V).
• Straits Chinese (Peranakan) – 土生华人 (tǔshēng huárén) – Cina Peranakan: Chinese families settled in the Straits for generations, often English-educated and active as intermediaries in commerce and law (Chapter A.V).
• gambier – 甘蜜 (gānmì) – gambir: a plant extract used in tanning and dyeing, grown with pepper on Singapore’s early plantations (Chapter A.IV).
• opium – 鸦片 (yāpiàn) – candu: the drug whose trade and revenue farm financed much of the colonial government until the twentieth century (Chapter A.IV).
• rubber – 橡胶 (xiàngjiāo) – getah: the plantation commodity that dominated the Malayan economy and Singapore’s trade from the early twentieth century (Chapter B.IV).
• tin – 锡 (xī) – bijih timah: the Malayan metal smelted and traded in Singapore, which drew Chinese and European capital into the hinterland (Chapter B.IV).
• Straits dollar – 海峡元 (Hǎixiá yuán) – dolar Negeri-Negeri Selat: the silver and later sterling-linked currency of the Straits Settlements, replaced by the Malayan dollar (Chapter B.IV).⁸
• Spanish dollar – 西班牙银元 (Xībānyá yínyuán) – dolar Sepanyol: the silver coin that served as the main currency of trade in the Straits during the nineteenth century (Chapter A.II).
• banana money – 香蕉票 (xiāngjiāo piào) – duit pisang: the Japanese occupation currency, named after the banana tree printed on the ten-dollar note (Chapter C.I).
• Syonan-to – 昭南岛 (Zhāonán Dǎo) – Syonan-to: the name the Japanese occupation authorities gave Singapore during the Second World War (Chapter C.I).
• Sook Ching – 肃清 (sùqīng) – Sook Ching: the massacre of Chinese men by the Japanese military in the first weeks of the occupation (Chapter C.I).
• merger – 合并 (hébìng) – penggabungan: Singapore’s union with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak in the Federation of Malaysia (Chapter C.II).
• separation – 新马分家 (Xīn-Mǎ fēnjiā) – perpisahan: Singapore’s exit from Malaysia and its independence as a sovereign republic (Chapter C.II).

Notes

1. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (prpm.dbp.gov.my), entry “entrepot”, citing Kamus Dewan, fourth edition (accessed November 2026): “pusat perdagangan, biasanya bandar pelabuhan, yg menjadi tempat mengimport dan mengeksport semula barang-barang dagangan”. ↩
2. PRPM, entry “entrepot”, as above: “mengeksport semula”. ↩
3. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone A: “dolar Negeri-Negeri Selat sejak tahun 1899”. ↩
4. Chinese and Malay forms are descriptive. No standard equivalent was found. ↩
5. Chinese and Malay forms are descriptive. No standard equivalent was found. ↩
6. Malay form is descriptive. ↩
7. Malay form is descriptive. No standard equivalent was found. ↩
8. MAS, Malay visitor brochure (2022), as above, Zone A: “dolar negeri-negeri Selat”. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.