science

Mukim

Mukim is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mukim rather than just read about it. In short: A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore, equivalent to a subdistrict. The word mukim is a loanword in English.

Key takeaways

Mukim belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mukim to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mukim from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore, equivalent to a subdistrict. The word mukim is a loanword in English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay from the Arabic word: مقيم (meaning resident). The closest English translation for mukim is township.

Usage

Brunei

In Brunei, a mukim is the immediate subdivision of a district (Malay: daerah). The equivalent English word for 'mukim' is 'township'. There are 38 mukims in Brunei. Each mukim is an administrative area made up of several kampung (Malay for "village"). A mukim is headed by a penghulu (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 in the Brunei-Muara District. The largest mukim by area is Mukim Sukang in the Belait District. The last change in the mukim boundaries was in the late 1990s when Mukim Kumbang Pasang was merged into Mukim Kianggeh and Mukim Berakas was divided into Mukim Berakas A and Mukim Berakas B. The number of mukims remained at 38.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, mukim means 'a place to stay' or 'the one who stays', while pemukiman means 'a settlement'. The term mukim is used only in Aceh as a subdivision of a district. A mukim contains several villages (gampong).

Malaysia In Malaysia, a mukim can either be a subdivision of a daerah (district or county) or a subdivision of an autonomous sub-district (daerah kecil), as per Section 11(c) of the National Land Code 1965. However, in Putrajaya the designation mukim is not used; the term presint (Malay for "precinct") is used instead. The northern state of Perlis, due to its small size, is not divided into daerahs, but directly into mukims. In Kelantan, the term daerah corresponds to the mukim level in other states, whilst for Sarawak in East Malaysia, owing to its large sizes, they are directly divided into divisions and in turn, divisions are divided into districts and the subdivision of each district is termed as a land district (daerah tanah) or town district (daerah bandar) instead. The neighbouring state of Sabah does not have such subdivision, and districts serve instead as the lowest jurisdictional level. Each mukim is divided into a village or villages (kampung or kampong).

Singapore In 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.

See also Divisions of Malaysia Administrative divisions of Brunei Barangay/Barrio Raion/Uyezd/Powiat Unincorporated community Civil parish Kecamatan Freguesia Sanjak

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mukim

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mukim claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mukim before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mukim ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mukim

In research: Mukim appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mukim in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mukim is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Brunei geography stubs, Geography terminology stubs, Malay words and phrases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mukim outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mukim in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mukim means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mukim out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mukim in simple terms?

A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore, equivalent to a subdistrict. The word mukim is a loanword in English.

Why does Mukim matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mukim?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mukim.