The word amok, as in the expression ‘running amok’ (or running amuck), is a Malay term. It is where a man (hardly ever a woman) harbours a hidden, brooding ill-feeling which suddenly erupts in a violent frenzy.
Psychologists have described the condition as a mental disorder and a rage reaction experienced by desperate people. It is not of course confined to the Malays, but is best known in this part of the world.