[3] The government provides schooling at the primary level in each of the three major languages, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

[6] The standard language is promoted as a unifying symbol for the nation across all ethnicities, linked to the concept of Bangsa Malaysia (lit.

[citation needed] After the 13 May Incident, English as the main kindergarten to university-level national education medium was gradually replaced with Malay since the 1970s.

The native tribes of East Malaysia have their own languages, which are related to but easily distinguishable from Malay.

[4] Sabah has ten other sub-ethnic languages: Bajau, Bruneian, Murut, Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, Rungus, Bisaya, Iranun, Sama, Suluk and Sungai.

These languages are in danger of dying out unlike the major ones such as Kadazan-Dusun, which have developed educational syllabuses.

English was used in the Parliament briefly upon independence (then as Federation of Malaya), prior to a gradual and complete transition to the Malay language, and continued to be used today for specific terminologies with permission.

English, however, remains an official language in the State Legislative Assemblies and Courts of Sabah and Sarawak.

Many Malaysians (particularly those who live in urban areas) are conversant in English, although some are only fluent in the Manglish form.

Among these, section 5 provides that English may be used in the parliament and state assemblies with the presiding officer's permission.

Article 152(3) of the constitution and sections 6–7 of the National Language Act provide that all federal and state laws must be enacted in Malay and English.

The Malaysia Agreement,[18] provided for the continued use of English in Sabah and Sarawak for any official purpose.

[9] There is significant tension regarding the status and usage of English in the country, as the language is seen both as a historical colonial imposition and as a crucial skill for academic achievement and global business.

[21] The Parent Action Group for Education and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for science and maths to be taught in English again.

The more common forms in Peninsular Malaysia are Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, Teochew, and Hokchew.

[12] Hokkien is mostly spoken in Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Klang, Johor, Northern Perak, Southwest Perak, Port Dickson, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Malacca, whereas Cantonese is mostly spoken in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban and Kuantan.

[28] Malayalees can be found in the West Coast states, mostly in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johore.

Besides, Malayalees who were employed as estate clerks and semi-professional positions in the Malayan Civil Service consists of Hindus and Christians from Cochin and Travancore, as they were educated.

Other South Asian languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Sinhala, Telugu, and Urdu are also spoken.