Article 152 of Malaysia's Constitution as drafted in 1957 (revised in 1963) merely mentions "Malay" (Bahasa Melayu) as the designation of its "national language" without any further definition,<ref>Template:Cite wikisource</ref> but the term bahasa Malaysia (Template:Lit) is used in official contexts from time to time.<ref name="StarWong2007" /> The latter term was endorsed by Tunku Abdul Rahman during his premiership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The exact wording of either names above can be politically contentious. Between 1986 during Mahathir Mohamad's tenure and 2007, the term bahasa Malaysia was replaced by "bahasa Melayu";<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> even in 1999 the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka rejected the publication of some short stories as the preface to the publication used the term bahasa Malaysia instead of bahasa Melayu.<ref name="qlrs1_1">Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2007, to recognize that Malaysia is composed of many ethnic groups (and not only the ethnic Malays), the term bahasa Malaysia became the government's preferred designation for the national language.<ref name="StarWong2007">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Ministry of Education's official communications used bahasa Malaysia from 2011 to 2015 but has preferred bahasa Melayu in its syllabi as of 2023.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other countries
In Singapore, "the Malay language" in the "Roman script" is afforded the status of national language in part 13 of its constitution's general provisions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The term bahasa Melayu is used continuously in Singapore's educational literature<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> and is considered to be identical to Malaysian Malay.<ref name=Steinhauer/>Template:Rp
The national standard variety of Malay employed in formal communications of Brunei dubbed "Standard Brunei Malay"<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> (or internally "Standard Malay"<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>) is observed to largely follow the Malaysian standard; the main differences being minor variation in pronunciation and some lexical influence from Brunei Malay, the local non-standard vernacular variety of Malay.<ref name=Steinhauer>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name=":0" />
The Latin alphabet, known in Malay as Rumi (Roman alphabet), is prescribed by law as the official script of Malaysian Malay, and the Arabic alphabet called Jawi (or Malay script) is not legally prescribed for that purpose. Rumi is official while efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve the Jawi script and to revive its use in Malaysia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Latin alphabet, however, is still the most commonly used script in Malaysia, for both official and informal purposes.
Since Malayan independence and later Federation formation, its own Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka followed a purist approach in lexicography away from Western loanwords (even favouring established roots like Sanskrit and Arabic) as well as neologizing from native roots.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In recent years, Malaysian has also been influenced lexically by the Indonesian variety largely through the popularity of neighbouring mass media like dramas, soap operas, and musicTemplate:Dashakin to the effect of American media towards other Englishes like those of Britain and Australia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Sanskrit: This language had a significant influence on the Malay language through trade and the spread of Hindu-Buddhist religions that arrived in the Malay Archipelago from the 1st to the 14th century. Borrowed words include bahasa (language), raja (king), syurga (heaven), neraka (hell), desa (village).
Arabic: With the arrival of Islam in the region during the 7th century, Arabic began influencing the Malay language, especially in religious and philosophical terminology. Examples include kitab (book), masjid (mosque), ilmu (knowledge), iman (faith), zakat (almsgiving).
Tamil: The influence of the Tamil language came primarily through maritime trade between India and the Malay Archipelago. Borrowed words from Tamil include kedai (shop), mangga (mango), and vadai (a type of snack).
Chinese: Trade relations between Chinese merchants and the local population led to the borrowing of words such as tauhu (tofu), mi (noodles), lombong (mine).
Portuguese: The Portuguese occupation of Malacca in the early 16th century introduced words like gereja (church), keju (cheese), jendela (window), and almari (cupboard).
Dutch: Borrowing from Dutch occurred during the Dutch colonial period, including words like kabin (cabin), sekolah (school), kontrak (contract).
English: The English language introduced many technical and modern words into Malay, especially during British colonial rule. Examples include telefon (telephone), komputer (computer), bank, internet, and stesen (station).
Grammar
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In addition, Arabic terms that is originally used in Standard Malay nowadays has been popularly changed where some of the words and pronunciations in the involved terms have been added by the local conservative Muslims by disputing the terms suggested by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), claiming that the involved terms with implementation of the additional words and pronunciations is the real correct terms as same as stated in the Qur'an, where it is predominantly used by the local Muslim netizens in the social medias nowadays. The several involved terms in comparison to Standard Malay that is popularly used, such as:
Ramadhan (means the holy fasting month, in place of Ramadan).
Aamiin (means asking Allah (Islam) to verify the prayer (Du'a); real term is Ameen, in place of Amin).
Fardhu (means obligatory (in Islam), in place of Fardu).
Redha (means accepting, in place of Reda).
Mudharat (means harm, in place of Mudarat).
Dhaif (means poverty, in place of Daif).
Zohor (means mid-day or noon time, in place of Zuhur).
Hadith (means Prophet (Mohamed) terms or speeches, in place of Hadis).
Code-switching between English and Malaysian and the use of novel loanwords is widespread, forming Bahasa Rojak. Consequently, this phenomenon has raised the displeasure of linguistic purists in Malaysia, in their effort to uphold use of the prescribed standard language.
