History

Certain Mamak stalls, such as this example in Kuala Lumpur, may remain open 24 hours a day.

The Malaysian Mamak (commonly known as Mamak) are Tamil Muslims of Malaysian nationality, whose forefathers mostly migrated from South India to the Malay Peninsula and various locations in Southeast Asia centuries ago. They are regarded as part of the Malaysian Indian community. Indian Muslims were believed to first arrive at Samudera (now Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia) back in the early 10th century, and later settled down in Peninsular Malaysia. Although the origins of the word are perfectly benign, it is often used as a derogatory term for the Indian Muslim community in Malaysia.

The word 'Mamak' is from the Tamil term for maternal uncle, or 'maa-ma'. In the context of Singapore and Malaysia, children of all ethnic groups are taught to refer to adult neighbours, shopkeepers and even strangers as 'uncle' and 'auntie', as a form of respect for and deference towards elders. This term is used even though the adult may not be a member of the child's family, clan or even ethnic group/'race'. The origin of the term 'mamak stall' is likely from the practice of children addressing the shopkeeper as 'uncle', or 'mamak', in his native Tamil language, as a form of respect when interacting with him, and patronising his shop.

Mamak stalls and Hindu stalls are alike except the Mamaks, who are Muslims, do not sell pork, whereas the Hindus do not sell beef. There are also similar stalls run by local Malays, which are not to be confused with the Mamak.