It was yesterday when my family and I were having our vacation at Pangkor Island, which is a resort island off the coast of Perak. Beside our room was a family from America that probably came here for a vacation too. I noticed that there was a little boy in the household and he looked so “manja.” That night, we had our family dinner in a restaurant that was popular nearby so did the American family coincidentally. Consequently, we had our time together with that family talking about each other, laughing and eating together. The boy looked at me, and I called him, but he didn’t come. I said to his parents, “Your kid is adorable and so “manja,” and they were just silent because they did not know what “manja” was. Therefore, the word “manja” needs clarification for native English speakers to understand it.
When I was seven years old, I still remembered that my mother used to call me “manja” once. She was divorced five years after I was born and she had no one else except me. Obviously, it was the toughest years for her to take care of me without any support from my father. Growing up without a father upset me as a son. Almost every day in the morning my lovely mother will send me off to the school by car and picked me up in the evening even though the distance between my school and my house was just 500 meters. One day, she had a fever; therefore, she felt sorry for me because she could not send me to school today and told me to walk there with my friends. I refused to do so and didn’t want to go to the school. Then, my mother said gently, “Please son, don’t be so “manja.” I know you can do it.” As a result, I braced myself and walked there with my other friends. That was the first time I heard the word “manja.”
Furthermore, “Manja” does not necessarily mean someone who is acting cute. A person who is “manja” is someone who is overacting about something with someone who he/she is close to. It could happen anywhere or anytime especially in a family. For example, when my sisters, Sofiya and Ilyana, were still nine years old, they were very close to my father. They would be excited when it came to Eid-ul-Fitr because they will get their new clothes which are baju kurung. As usual, all the clothes, which are baju melayu and baju kurung, will be the same in color for everyone and that somehow made Sofiya mad because she didn’t want the same color as anyone else. Indeed, my father had been planning the theme for that year is blue, so everyone in the family will be wearing clothes blue in color. Ilyana was feeling happy about it. However, Sofiya disagreed, and she still stuck with her choice which is the green color. My father reminded his daughter not to be “manja” otherwise it will be none for her.
There is the way that people can know if someone is “manja.” One important requirement is that the individual is overacting. It means that when something that is straightforward and easy-going, and someone who is “manja” making it more complicated and hard to deal with; in other words, things would be difficult to do if working with him/her who is “manja.” The second requirement is it is intentional. That is to say, the person is intended to do so because of what he/she feels, and this often happens between family members and friends. Another requirement is to feel distracted when the person does it. An individual who is “manja” will usually make the people surround him/her feel troubled with what that person does. It is not like feeling annoyed. However, it is just difficult to concentrate on what we are doing when that kind of person is near us.
Also, an example of a person whom I consider “manja” is my friend, Susan. One day, she invited me to go to the cinema to watch a horror movie called The Sinister. Without further ado, I accepted the offer because I liked watching movies especially the horror one. She told me that she didn’t have any car to go there, but I suggested her to take a bus because it would be easier. At first, she agreed but then plan changed. When I was on the bus, she contacted me and told me that she needed to go with her mother as she was afraid to take the bus. As I arrived there, I waited for her for almost half an hour. I just could not stand it anymore, so I called her again and asked her maybe she was in her way. I was shocked that she was still at home waiting for her mother to get back from work. I felt so frustrated and ended up watching that movie alone. That was because of her “manja” attitude.
While eating dinner together with that family, I explained to the parents’ boy about what is the meaning of “manja.” As a result, they understood it and felt relieved that “manja” was not a bad attitude to have. In fact, they seemed comfortable with their son’s behavior because it was common to have that in every child. They also agreed that the word “manja” was not able to translate directly from Bahasa Melayu to English.
When I was seven years old, I still remembered that my mother used to call me “manja” once. She was divorced five years after I was born and she had no one else except me. Obviously, it was the toughest years for her to take care of me without any support from my father. Growing up without a father upset me as a son. Almost every day in the morning my lovely mother will send me off to the school by car and picked me up in the evening even though the distance between my school and my house was just 500 meters. One day, she had a fever; therefore, she felt sorry for me because she could not send me to school today and told me to walk there with my friends. I refused to do so and didn’t want to go to the school. Then, my mother said gently, “Please son, don’t be so “manja.” I know you can do it.” As a result, I braced myself and walked there with my other friends. That was the first time I heard the word “manja.”
Furthermore, “Manja” does not necessarily mean someone who is acting cute. A person who is “manja” is someone who is overacting about something with someone who he/she is close to. It could happen anywhere or anytime especially in a family. For example, when my sisters, Sofiya and Ilyana, were still nine years old, they were very close to my father. They would be excited when it came to Eid-ul-Fitr because they will get their new clothes which are baju kurung. As usual, all the clothes, which are baju melayu and baju kurung, will be the same in color for everyone and that somehow made Sofiya mad because she didn’t want the same color as anyone else. Indeed, my father had been planning the theme for that year is blue, so everyone in the family will be wearing clothes blue in color. Ilyana was feeling happy about it. However, Sofiya disagreed, and she still stuck with her choice which is the green color. My father reminded his daughter not to be “manja” otherwise it will be none for her.
There is the way that people can know if someone is “manja.” One important requirement is that the individual is overacting. It means that when something that is straightforward and easy-going, and someone who is “manja” making it more complicated and hard to deal with; in other words, things would be difficult to do if working with him/her who is “manja.” The second requirement is it is intentional. That is to say, the person is intended to do so because of what he/she feels, and this often happens between family members and friends. Another requirement is to feel distracted when the person does it. An individual who is “manja” will usually make the people surround him/her feel troubled with what that person does. It is not like feeling annoyed. However, it is just difficult to concentrate on what we are doing when that kind of person is near us.
Also, an example of a person whom I consider “manja” is my friend, Susan. One day, she invited me to go to the cinema to watch a horror movie called The Sinister. Without further ado, I accepted the offer because I liked watching movies especially the horror one. She told me that she didn’t have any car to go there, but I suggested her to take a bus because it would be easier. At first, she agreed but then plan changed. When I was on the bus, she contacted me and told me that she needed to go with her mother as she was afraid to take the bus. As I arrived there, I waited for her for almost half an hour. I just could not stand it anymore, so I called her again and asked her maybe she was in her way. I was shocked that she was still at home waiting for her mother to get back from work. I felt so frustrated and ended up watching that movie alone. That was because of her “manja” attitude.
While eating dinner together with that family, I explained to the parents’ boy about what is the meaning of “manja.” As a result, they understood it and felt relieved that “manja” was not a bad attitude to have. In fact, they seemed comfortable with their son’s behavior because it was common to have that in every child. They also agreed that the word “manja” was not able to translate directly from Bahasa Melayu to English.
