Malay translator in Tbilisi

The Malay language has unexpectedly become topical in Georgia in recent years: Malaysia has turned into one of Georgia's fastest-growing tourist markets, Malaysian students are appearing at Georgian medical universities, Georgian producers are seeking halal certification for the Malaysian market, and Malaysian-Georgian families work with the civil and religious registries of both countries. At the same time Malay is one of the most "deceptive" languages for the client: most Malaysian documents are also in English, and the question arises whether a Malay translation is needed at all; Malaysia is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, while Brunei and Singapore are, and a document in the same language goes through three different legalisation routes; Malay and Indonesian are mutually intelligible, but in an official document they are different languages. On this page we explain all of this in detail.

One language, four countries, three legalisation routes

Malay (Bahasa Melayu) is the official language of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, and Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is its closely related standard. For translation this means that a "Malay document" may come from four different legal systems, and the legalisation route depends on the country: Malaysia is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, so a Malaysian document goes through full consular legalisation for Georgia, and a Georgian document for Malaysia likewise; Brunei has been a member of the Convention since 1987, Singapore since 2021, Indonesia since 2022, and their documents are accepted with an apostille. With us Malay translation covers the documents of all four countries, and the legalisation scheme is determined at the time of the order according to the issuing country.

English or Malay: which column we translate from

A significant part of Malaysia's official documents is bilingual: the birth certificate (Sijil Kelahiran), the identity card (MyKad), the driving licence, university diplomas and company registry documents contain Malay and English fields in parallel. Such a document can be translated into Georgian on the basis of the English fields too, with the signature of a translator registered for English, which is often faster; but seals, handwritten entries, documents of the state religious departments (Sijil Nikah - the Muslim marriage certificate), Syariah court acts, certificates of some state authorities and school documents are in Malay only. When the order is placed this is the first thing we check: which part is in which language, and both source languages appear in the certification record if we used both.

MyKad, bin/binti and the name system

The Malaysian identity card (MyKad) carries a 12-digit number in the format birthdate-place-serial number, where the middle two digits denote the state or country of birth and the last digit the sex. This number appears on every Malaysian document and is the main identifier for a Georgian bank and the Public Registry; we carry it into the translation unchanged and explain its structure. The Malay name system does not know surnames: a Malay Muslim's name consists of the given name and the father's name joined by "bin" (son) or "binti" (daughter) (Ahmad bin Abdullah, Siti binti Ismail); a Malaysian of Chinese origin has the clan surname first; one of Indian origin has the "a/l" or "a/p" (anak lelaki/perempuan) connector. A Georgian authority expecting a "first name-surname" structure reads this system wrongly without an explanation: it takes the father's name for a surname, and a husband and wife who have no common "surname" for strangers. The translation repeats the structure of the passport fields exactly, and in the translator's note explains the name system.

Which documents come from Malaysia

• Passport and MyKad
• Birth certificate (Sijil Kelahiran) from the National Registration Department (JPN)
• Civil marriage certificate (Sijil Perkahwinan, JPN) or Muslim marriage certificate (Sijil Nikah, the state religious department)
• Certificate of family status and statutory declaration (Surat Akuan Sumpah / Statutory Declaration)
• Certificate of Good Conduct from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• SPM/STPM certificates, diplomas, supplements, MQA accreditation certificates
• Registration documents of an Sdn. Bhd. from the SSM (Companies Commission), constitution, directors' resolutions
• Power of attorney (Surat Kuasa Wakil), court and Syariah court acts
• Medical reports (laporan perubatan), vaccination card, medical certificate (sijil sakit)
• Halal certificates (JAKIM) and food safety documents

Consular legalisation: the route for Malaysia

Since Malaysia is not a member of the Apostille Convention, the movement of documents in both directions goes through full legalisation. A Malaysian document for Georgia: the issuing authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia (Wisma Putra) and the Georgian consular mission to which Malaysia is assigned; then a Georgian notarised translation in Georgia. A Georgian document for Malaysia: a notary (or the issuing authority), the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the Malaysian embassy to which Georgia is assigned (there is no resident embassy in Tbilisi); the translation into Malay or English is part of this chain. This procedure is much longer than an apostille and has a term at each stage, so the preparation of documents should start as early as possible. For the documents of Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia, on the other hand, an apostille is sufficient.

Tourism: Malaysian visitors in Georgia

Citizens of Malaysia have the right of visa-free entry to Georgia, and the flow of Malaysian tourists has grown sharply in recent years, partly because Georgia is considered a halal-friendly destination. For the tourism industry this means the need for Malay-language materials (tour programmes, halal markings on menus, information on prayer places, contracts with the tour operator), and for the individual visitor in emergencies (hospital, police, lost documents) the translation of medical and police documents and an interpreter. Some visits end with the purchase of a flat in Batumi or the founding of a company in Tbilisi, which generates the translation of sale, Public Registry and bank documents.

Education: Malaysian students at Georgian medical universities

The number of Malaysian students on the English-language programmes of Georgian medical and dental faculties is small but growing, because Malaysian school-leavers traditionally seek medical education abroad. Admission requires SPM (the Malaysian Certificate of Education) or STPM/A-Level/Foundation results, a medical certificate and a vaccination card; these documents are often in English too, while school certificates are in Malay. After graduation the Georgian diploma is translated into English for the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and goes through legalisation, while the MMC's rules for the recognition of foreign medical schools must be checked by the student before enrolment, which is not a matter of translation competence but does determine the document package.

Halal: JAKIM and Georgian producers

Georgian producers of food, drinks and cosmetics seek halal certification for the markets of Malaysia and South-East Asia, and the standard of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) is the international benchmark in this field. The certification process requires documentation of ingredients, the production process and the supply chain, which is translated into Malay or English, and the visit of the auditors of JAKIM or a body it recognises requires an interpreter. The terminology of JAKIM's halal standard (MS 1500) is saturated in Malay with the Arabic terms of Islamic law (halal, haram, najis, samak), and is carried into Georgian with an explanation.

Business: Sdn. Bhd., SSM and Islamic finance

The standard form of Malaysian companies, Sdn. Bhd. (Sendirian Berhad, a private limited company) and Bhd. (public), is registered with the Companies Commission (SSM, Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia), and their documents (registration certificate, constitution, directors' resolutions) are bilingual or in English. When a Malaysian company's subsidiary is registered in Georgia these documents are translated into Georgian, after the full chain of legalisation. Malaysia is a global centre of Islamic finance, and the terminology of Islamic banking products (murabahah, ijarah, sukuk, takaful) is carried into a Georgian financial text with an explanation if a Georgian company works with a Malaysian bank or investor.

Malay and Indonesian: why they are not one language for translation

Malay and Indonesian are largely mutually intelligible when spoken, but the spelling, vocabulary and official terminology differ: Malay "pejabat" is an office, Indonesian "kantor"; Malay "percuma" is free of charge, Indonesian "gratis"; Malay "bilik" is a room, Indonesian "kamar"; Malay "kereta" is a car, Indonesian "mobil". Administrative abbreviations and the names of authorities are completely different. A Georgian notary registers a translator for a specific language, and a translator registered for Malay cannot sign an Indonesian document, and vice versa. With us a Malay translation is done by a translator registered for Malay, and the editing by a specialist in Austronesian languages.

Jawi: the Arabic script in Malay documents

Malay is written in the Latin alphabet (Rumi), but Jawi, the traditional system based on the Arabic script, is equally official in Brunei, is used on official documents in some Malaysian states (Kelantan, Terengganu), and appears on the forms and seals of religious departments throughout the country. Our translators read Jawi and indicate in the translation which fragment is in which script; in the certification the source language is Malay regardless of the script.

Who this service is for

Three types of client look for a Malay translator with us: a citizen of Malaysia, Brunei or Singapore who is arranging studies, residence, marriage, property or business in Georgia; a Georgian producer, tourism company or university working with the Malaysian market, a certification body or a partner; and a citizen of Georgia who is going to Malaysia for work, study or marriage and needs Georgian papers in English or Malay. In all three cases the same team works, but the choice of target language, the legalisation route (apostille or the consular chain) and the deadlines differ, so at the first consultation we clarify exactly these details.

Quality control of Malay translation

After the translator, every Malay translation goes to an editor who checks three things: numerical data (the MyKad number with its hyphens, the passport number, the JPN registration number, dates in both calendars) character by character, proper names against the Latin record of the passport and the bin/binti note, and the correspondence of the English and Malay columns, if we used both. The role of editor is performed by a specialist in Austronesian languages, who also reads the text from the point of view of Indonesian false friends: Malay "budak" is a child, Indonesian "budak" a slave; Malay "pusing" is to turn, Indonesian "pusing" dizziness.

Linguistic features that affect the translation

Malay is an agglutinative language, but without grammatical forms of case and tense: the plural is expressed by reduplication (dokumen-dokumen), tense by context and adverbs, and there is no grammatical gender. The official vocabulary has three layers: Malay stems, Arabic loans (especially in legal, religious and administrative vocabulary: hakim - judge, mahkamah - court, wakil - representative, sijil - certificate) and English terms, which dominate official text through the legacy of British colonial law. When translating into Georgian, cases and tense forms are "restored" from context, which requires particular care in an official document: "telah" (already) and "akan" (in the future) change the status of an obligation in a contract clause.

Typical mistakes in Malay translation

• Writing the father's name as a surname and leaving the bin/binti system without a note
• The signature of an Indonesian translator, which the notary could not confirm for Malay
• "Looking for" an apostille on a Malaysian document, although Malaysia is not a member of the Convention and consular legalisation is needed
• Translating the English column and omitting the Malay seals, handwritten entries and the fields of the religious department
• Changing the format of the MyKad number or omitting the hyphens
• Ignoring the tense markers "telah" and "akan" in a contract translation

Seals, forms and electronic documents

Malaysian state documents (JPN certificates, SSM extracts, university diplomas) have in recent years been issued through an electronic system, with a QR code and an electronic signature, while seals are often in Malay and sometimes in Jawi. We translate every readable element: the fields of the form from both languages, the outer ring and centre of the seal, the registration number and marginal notes, and in the case of an electronic document the verification data too, so that a Georgian authority does not take the absence of a seal for a defect. The documents of the state religious departments are often on paper, with handwritten entries, and require a separate legibility check.

Deadlines

One or two pages are ready in two working days, a contract or a diploma supplement in three to four days; express is possible for short documents depending on the translator's availability. Kuala Lumpur is four hours ahead of Tbilisi, so an order sent from Malaysia in the morning is processed within our working day. Notarisation, the organisation of the consular legalisation chain and courier delivery are completed within one order.

Confidentiality

Some Malay documents contain religious status, family and financial information, which requires particular care. Every translator and editor works under a signed confidentiality agreement, files are stored in encrypted storage, are not uploaded to external platforms and are deleted a set period after the order is completed, unless the client requests otherwise.

How an order proceeds

You upload the document on the site or send it by messenger; within an hour and a half you receive the exact deadline. Before the translation starts we check which country the document is from (Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia), which part is in which language and what legalisation it needs. You receive the finished translation electronically, by courier to any point in Georgia or by international parcel; the whole process is organised remotely.

Frequently asked questions