Coollzzzz stuff and other Poklen 101

Got this in the mailbox, shared by a student in year 8. It really is funny.

'Poklen' is a term commonly used to describe a group of young stereotypical teens in Brunei who are influenced with a bad taste in fashion, who are seemingly low educated and who speak and write aggravatingly. One of the reasons that describe a "poklen" is their hypocritical behaviour and high-ego. Mostly they try to act "cool" and independent among themselves and try to 'show-off' and imitate others and other sub-cultures from the western style.


This community has caused minor controversies among the teenagers in Brunei. "Poklen"s, who's collective age range from their adolescent years to late teens, are usually centralised in the Gadong area and derived from most areas along the Bandar area and (Kampong Ayer. They usually loiter around central businesses area and shopping centres (i.e The Mall,Yayasan Complex).


Poklens, who are basically males, are also considered as 'stalkers'. They normally hang-out in groups and flirt with attractive girls for their intention to impress them, but are misinterpreted by their immature attitude. They love to stalk girls on instant messenger programs and use the advantage to introduce themselves and propose to them instantly (to form a relationship) but without consideration. Most of the girls encountered would reject.


Distinguishing between Shufflers

Melbourne Shuffle(a dance) is one of the most notable interests among the youths in Brunei that transcends from other styles of dancing. They form shuffle crews and groups to compete each other publicly for self-interest but are not regarded as Poklens. Poklens do not associate to shufflers and are entirely different definition, but one's status can change if their behavior is perceived as a Poklen.

Use of Language

Poklens have established their own way of speaking, which is a combination of words and dialects to form a mixture of broken English and Village-Malay (Ghetto-Malay). They usually have a style of writing words that are found to be extremely annoying to others. That is because they exaggeratedly type in words that constitute a sentence of misspellings, mixed capitilisations and short letters with an expression of an "X" or a "Z" at the end of each word.

Example of Words/Expressions:

1. AhaKz
2. MuAHaX
3. HeKz,HeKz
4. APaKnZ
5. bHaPazx
6. C0oLzZZzz
7. hYEz
8. OitZzZ
9. cHuPPy2z (Capi-capi)
10. MiHeRzZ
11. LeFuckZz (Lepak)

Example of a sentence written by a typical Poklen:

"Uitzzz. U aDa BoyPren Udhz?? mE aLuM pLangZ aDa GF Ni, AhAkz. BuLeh beKenaLanZ?".
- "Oi, do you have a boyfriend? I haven't got a GF. Can we introduce ourselves?" -(English Translation)


Origin of the Term

The Term 'Poklen' came from the word 'Portland' from the early days. Portland is a town or city in UK and are known to have a very bad football team. So in a way they were branded as losers. So as people in Brunei prefer to support Manchester United or Liverpool, people began to insult others in reference to the losing team. The term has consequently evolved to define the teenagers that resides in Kampong Ayer that likes to wear inappropriate and mismatched clothes.