Palis-palis

It's a..... "Charm Word"?
Is that what you call it?

Well, it's just a phrase you could occasionally hear Sabahans say when they fear that something might happen.
Usually a bad thing.

It's like a phrase to repel a jinx.

At the same time, people might "knock" on something while they say this.

And there's another variant:
-Palis-palis, jauh-jauh

"Jauh" meant "far".
Since it's pluralised, then it means either "far away" or "go away".

And idk what "palis-palis" means.

(In Malay)
A: Sia dingar-dingar ada urang pigi mencuri di kawasan kampung ni.
B: Uish, nah. Harap-harap dia kana tangkap pulis -lah tu.
B: Janganlah lagi dia pigi mencurilah.
A: Odoi, palis-palislah. Jangan begitu.

(Translation)
A: I've heard that someone's been stealing in our neighbourhood.
B: Whoa, hope they get caught by the police soon.
B: Hope they just stop stealing though.
A: Yeah, hope they don't go stealing anymore.