ke belakang pusing

• ke-belakang pusing, kebelakang pusing, keblakang pusing, (misspelling) kebelakan pusing

Unadapted borrowing from Malay ke belakang pusing, a military drill command used in the Singapore Armed Forces, meaning to “turn and face the rear”, i.e., to turn 180 degrees and face the other way.

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): /kəˈblɑkɑŋ ˌpuseŋ/, /-ˈblɑkɑn -/, [k˭əˈblak˭aŋ ˌp˭useŋ], [-ˈblak˭an -]
  • The final /-ŋ/ sound in belakang is sometimes replaced with an /-n/.

ke belakang pusing (invariable)

1. (Singapore, military) To make an about-turn; more precisely, to turn 180 degrees clockwise, then stomp one’s left foot.
2. (Singapore, Singlish, informal, originally military, often humorous) To turn around and retrace one’s steps (e.g., when one has lost their way or gone in the wrong direction); to turn around and run away (e.g., from a problematic situation).
   • 2022, Amierul Rashid, “'You might wanna visit Johor and claim the same thing': Netizens weigh in on preacher who said Singapore belongs to Riau”, in AsiaOne‎^[1], archived from the original on 3 March 2025:

     He did not even get the chance to step foot on Singapore soil before he was duly told to ‘ke belakang pusing’ (translated to U-turn, in English) back to Batam at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

ke belakang pusing

1. (Singapore, chiefly military) A 180° turn; an about-turn.
   • 1987, Michael Chiang, Army Daze, Landmark Books, →ISBN, page 65:

     Have you ever attempted a ke-belakang pusing (about-turn) on the move with your feet apart? That day, my knee caps stabbed two soldiers in their kidneys.

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