DBP Malaysia was established as Balai Pustaka in Johor Bahru on 22 June 1956,[1] It was placed under the purview of the then Malayan Ministry of Education.

However, soon after that DBP stated that they cannot publish books in regional languages because this would be against its own policy and is not economically sound in a small market of readers.

[8] DBP publishes the Kamus Dewan, for many years the prestigious dictionary of the Malaysian national language.

The dictionary is not only descriptive, but rather it is also prescriptive, as it represents the results of the efforts of DBP to adapt the Malay language to accommodate the challenges of technology and science.

DBP's role in developing and regulating the language may be likened to that of similar government bodies in other countries, for example the Académie Française.