Cover not available

In:World Englishes in their Local Multilingual Ecologies
Edited by Peter Siemund, Gardy Stein and Manuela Vida-Mannl
[Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity 9] 2025
► pp. 116–142

Get fulltext
PDF logo with download linkDownload Chapter PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Chapter EPUB

Chapter 6
Top-down policies and the language profiles of Malaysians in a multilingual language ecology

 | University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur
 | University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 24 April 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/hsld.9.06pil
Abstract
Malaysia is a multilingual country with more than 100 languages comprising, among others, Standard Malay and its mainly geographical varieties as well as indigenous, Chinese, and Indian languages. Over the years, language and education policies have put the national and official language, Malay, at the forefront of the language ecology in the country, while English continues to be given considerable attention in the education and employment sectors. The language ecology in Malaysia is dynamic in reflecting the dominant languages within a multicultural environment. This chapter examines two interrelated aspects within the Malaysian multilingual language ecology: language and education policies and the language profiles of a group of Malaysian undergraduates. The examination of these two aspects against the demographic backgrounds of the undergraduates indicates that their backgrounds influence the language profiles of Malaysians. In short, this chapter offers a glimpse into the effect of top-down policies, as an ecological factor, on the language profiles of students from different ethnic and economic groups, language backgrounds, and medium of instruction streams at a public university in Malaysia.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Malaysia’s language ecology
    • 2.1Language and ethnicity
    • 2.2Language and education policies
    • 2.3English in Malaysia
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Respondents and context
    • 3.2The survey
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Demographic information
    • 4.2Language and education
    • 4.3Language profiles of graduates
    • 4.4Perceptions about language use
      • 4.4.1Fluency in Malay, English, and Mandarin
      • 4.4.2Language mixing
      • 4.4.3Heritage languages
      • 4.4.4Perceptions about English
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (71)
References
Andaya, Barbara Watson & Leonard Y. Andaya. 2017. A History of Malaysia, 3rd edn. London: Palgrave. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Austin, Peter K. & Stefanie Pillai. 2020. Language description, documentation and revitalisation of languages in Malaysia. Journal of Modern Languages 30(1): 1–5. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chan, Mikha. 23 November, 2023. M’sian education to focus on English mastery next year onwards, says Anwar. Free Malaysia Today. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Coluzzi, Paolo. 2017. Language planning for Malay in Malaysia: A case of failure or success? International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2017(244): 17–38. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Creese, Angela & Peter Martin. 2003. Multilingual classroom ecologies: Inter-relationships, interactions, and ideologies. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 6(3–4): 161–167. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
David, Maya Khemlani & Ibtisam Naji. 2000. Do minorities have to abandon their languages? A case study of the Malaysian Tamils. The International Scope Review 2(3): 1–15.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
David, Maya Khemlani & Mohana Nambiar. 2002. Exogamous marriages and out-migration: Language shift of the Malayalees in Malaysia. In Maya Khemlani David (ed.), Methodological Issues in Language Maintenance and Language Shift Studies, pp. 125–134. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
David, Maya Khemlani, Ibtisam Naji & Sheena Kaur. 2003. Language maintenance or language shift among the Punjabi Sikh community in Malaysia? International Journal of the Sociology of Language 161: 1–24. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Department of Statistics Malaysia. 2021. Household Income Estimates and Incidence of Poverty Report, Malaysia, 2020. [URL] (11 October 2024).
. 2022. Key Findings Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2020 (MyCensus 2020). [URL] (11 October 2024).
Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons & Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2023. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 26th edn. Dallas, TX: SIL International. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Economic Planning Unit. 1993. Midterm review, The Sixth Malaysia Plan. Kuala Lumpur: Government of Malaysia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eliasson, Stig. 2015. The birth of language ecology: Interdisciplinary influences in Einar Haugen’s “The ecology of language”. Language Sciences 50: 78–92. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Endicott, Kirk (ed.). 2015. Malaysia’s Original People: Past, Present and Future of the Orang Asli. Singapore: NUS Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Federal Constitution Malaysia. 1957/1963. Federal legislation. Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia. [URL] (11 October 2024).
García, Ofelia & Ricardo Otheguy. 2019. Plurilingualism and translanguaging: Commonalities and divergences. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 23(1): 17–35. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gill, Saran Kaur. 2002. International Communication: English Language Challenges for Malaysia. Serdang: UPM Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haji Ibrahim, Majdi & Akmal Khuzairy Abd. Rahman. 2018. Teaching of Arabic in Malaysia. Intellectual Discourse 26(1): 189–206. [URL] (11 October 2024).
. 2014. English and the linguistic ecology of Malaysia. World Englishes 33(4): 458–471. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haugen, Einar. 1972. The Ecology of Language. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kaur, Paramjit & Aspalila Shapii. 2018. Language and nationalism in Malaysia: A language policy perspective. International Journal of Law, Government and Communication 3(7): 1–10.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. 2013. Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia 2013–3025 — Pendidikan Prasekolah hingga Lepas Menengah [Education Development Plan — Preschool to Post-Secondary Education]. [URL] (11 October 2024).
. 2020. Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) National Religious Secondary Schools]. [URL] (11 October 2024).
. 2023. Maklumat umum TVET [General information about TVET]. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi. 2021a. Statistik Pendidikan Tinggi 2021: Universiti Awam [Higher Education Statistics 2021: Public Universities]. [URL] (11 October 2024).
. 2021b. Quick Facts — Pendidikan Tinggi [Higher Education] 2021. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Leimgruber, Jakob. R. E., Peter Siemund & Laura Terassa. 2018. Singaporean students’ language repertoires and attitudes revisited. World Englishes 37(2): 282–306. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lim, Ida. 3 July 2017. What you should know about Chinese schools in Malaysia. The Malay Mail. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia. 2023. Keterangan BAND [Band Description]. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Ministry of Education Malaysia. 2013. Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025. Putrajaya, Ministry of Education Malaysia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2015. English Language Education Reform in Malaysia: The Roadmap 2015–2025. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2018. Annual Report Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2019. Surat Pekeliling Ikhtisas KPM Bil. 6 2019 [General Circular MoE No 6. 2019]. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Mohd. Don, Zuraidah. 7 August, 2016. It’s all in the pronunciation. In Learning Curve. New Straits Times, [URL] (11 October 2024).
Mohsen, Amar Shah. 11 Nov. 2020. Significant rise in Malay participation in Chinese schools in last decade. The Vibes. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Nalliannan, Pawathy, Thanalachime Perumal & Stefanie Pillai. 2021. Language use among Malaysian Tamil youth. Sustainable Multilingualism 19(1): 69–93. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nasa, Aina & Pilay, Suzanna. 23 April 2017. International schools: Why their numbers are growing. New Straits Times. [URL] (11 October 2024).
National Language Acts 1963/1967. Federal legislation. Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia. [URL] (11 October 2024).
National Education Act 1996. Federal legislation. Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Ng, Jia Chi & Chloé Diskin-Holdaway. 2023. Attitudes to English in contemporary Malaysia. World Englishes 42(3): 562–578. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Omar, Asmah. 2012. Pragmatics of maintaining English in Malaysia’s education system. In Ee-Ling Low & Azirah Hashim (eds.), English in Southeast Asia: Features, Policy and Language in Use, pp. 155–174. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Otheguy, Ricardo, Ofelia García & Wallis Reid. 2015. Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review 6(3): 281–307. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU). 2010. Economic Transformation Programme: A Roadmap for Malaysia: Executive Summary. Putrajaya: Prime Minister’s Department.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pillai, Stefanie. 2008. Politeness and power in family discourse. In Maya Khemlani David & Karen Kow (eds.), Politeness in Malaysian Family Talk, pp. 1–18. Serdang: Universiti Putra Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pillai, Stefanie & Mahmud Hassan Khan. 2011. I am not English but my first language is English: English as a first language among Portuguese Eurasians in Malaysia. In Dipika Mukherjee & Maya Khemlani David (eds.), National Language Planning and Language Shifts in Malaysian Minority Communities: Speaking in Many Tongues, pp. 87–100. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pillai, Stefanie & Lok Tik Ong. 2018. English(es) in Malaysia. Asian Englishes 20(2): 147–157. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pillai, Stefanie, Surinderpal Kaur & Meng Huat Chau. 2021. The ideological stance of multilingualism in education in Malaysia in the press 2000–0020. Advances in Southeast Asian Studies 14(2): 173–193. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pillai, Stefanie, Wen-Yi Soh & Angela S. Kajita. 2014. Family language policy and heritage language maintenance of Malacca Portuguese Creole. Language & Communication 37: 75–85. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Platt, John & Heidi Weber. 1980. English in Singapore and Malaysia: Status, Features, Functions. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Puteh, Alis. 2006. Language and National Building: A Study of the Language Medium Policy in Malaysia. Petaling Jaya: SIRD.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rahim, Rahimy, Tarrence Tan & Martin Carvalho. 11 November 2020. More non-Chinese enrol in Chinese schools now compared to a decade ago. The Star. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Raman, Santhiram R. & Tan Yao Sua. 2015. The development of Chinese education in Malaysia: Problems and challenges. The ISEAS Working Paper Series 2. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Rashid, Radzuwan A. B., Shireena Basree Abdul Rahman & Kamariah Yunus. 2017. Reforms in the policy of English language teaching in Malaysia. Policy Futures in Education 15(1): 100–112. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Reddy, Geetha & Selvanathan, Hema Preya. 2020. Multiracial in Malaysia: Categories, classification, and campur in contemporary everyday Life. In Zaina L. Rocha & Peter J. Aspinall (eds.), The Palgrave International Handbook of Mixed Racial and Ethnic Classification, pp. 649–668. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rei Tiah. 12 Oct. 2021. The constitutionality of vernacular schools in Malaysia. Durham Asian Law Journal. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Report of the Education Committee. 1956. Federation of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur: Government Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Salleh, Rafidah, Lenny James Matah, Ku Mohd Amir Aizat Ku Yusof. 2021. Who is a native of Sabah? A legal analysis. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 6(10): 558–566. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Savski, Kristof. 2021. CEFR as language policy: Opportunities and challenges for local agency in a global era. The English Teacher 50(2): 60–70. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schiffman, Harold. F. 2002. Malaysian Tamils and Tamil linguistic culture. Language & Communication 22(2): 159–169. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schneider, Edgar W. 2007. Postcolonial English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shanmugavelu, Ganesan, Khairi Ariffin, Nadarajan Thambu & Zulkufli Mahayudin. 2020. Development of British colonial education in Malaya, 1816 — 1957. Shanlax International Journal of Education 8(2): 10–15. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Siemund, Peter, Monika Edith Schulz & Martin Schweinberger. 2014. Studying the linguistic ecology of Singapore: A comparison of college and university students. World Englishes 33(3): 340–362. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove. 2011. Language ecology. In Jan-Ola Östman & Jef Verschueren (eds.) Pragmatics in Practice, pp. 177–198. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Smith, James A. & Karla J. Smith. 2017. Indigenous language development in East Malaysia. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 244: 119–135. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sulaiman, Ghazali Hassan & Abdul Said Ambotang. 2017. Pengaruh pendidikan asas vokasional terhadap kebolehkerjaan murid sekolah menengah harian di Sabah [The Impact of basic vocational education on the employability of secondary school students in Sabah]. Jurnal Pusat Penataran Ilmu dan Bahasa 26: 211–236. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tan, Yao Sua & Hooi See Teoh. 2015. The development of Chinese education in Malaysia, 1952–1975: Political collaboration between the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Chinese educationists. History of Education 44(1): 83–100. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
UNESCO. 2017. International Standard Classification of Education. Country Diagrams — Malaysia. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Vollmann, Ralf, & Tek Wooi Soon. 2018. Chinese identities in multilingual Malaysia. Grazer Linguistische Studien 89: 35–61. [URL] (11 October 2024).
Wee, Lionel. 2018. The Singlish Controversy: Language, Culture and Identity in a Globalizing World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zainuddin, Siti Zaidah, Stefanie Pillai, Francisco P. Dumanig & Adriana Phillip. 2019. English language and graduate employability. Education and Training 61(1): 79–93. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue