The 116-page book, first published in 1884, saw two printings and has been described as the "most remarkable achievement of Chinese Malay writing".

[1] During the late 1800s numerous books and newspapers had been published in Batavia (now Jakarta) using a creole form of Malay.

[2] Lie Kim Hok (1853–1912) was a journalist and teacher who wrote extensively in the creole.

He considered the lack of standardisation appalling, and began to write a grammar of the language to ensure a degree of regularity in its use.

[7] Malaysian press historian Ahmat B. Adam describes Lie as leaving "an indelible mark on the development of modern Indonesian language",[8] while Mahdi writes that the grammar was the "most remarkable achievement of Chinese Malay writing" from a linguist's point of view.