The official language of the state shall be the Malay language and shall be in such script as may by written law be provided.

UNESCO: Brunei Darussalam

Malay remains the national language (there are four official languages), but it is not spoken by most Chinese and is largely seen as a relic of Singapore's past union with Malaysia.

ECONOMIST: Malaysia and Singapore: Aiming to avoid Indonesia’s way | The

The search for people to blame has already claimed one prominent scalp, that of Abdul Kadir Jasin, chief editor of Malaysia's New Straits Times Group, which publishes the main Malay and English-language newspapers.

ECONOMIST: Malaysia

Thus when Johan Jaaffar announced July 14 that he was stepping down as editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia, the country's second-largest Malay-language daily, political pundits were quick to suspect something was afoot.

CNN: The Press Under Pressure