According to an article I found today, the government of Malaysia is worried about the way young Malays are mixing Malay with other languages. This is known as “rojak” language and the most common combination of languages is Malay and English. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports has called on the authorities to “to implement and monitor the use of proper Malay language”.

The article also talks of the Malay language being “eroded” and “polluted” and of the need to “save the dignity of the Malay language”. The Minister also said:

“We know that language, community and culture are always evolving with the time, […] Conversing in ‘rojak’ language is now regarded by society as modern and advanced without realising that it is tearing apart the very fabric of our values and culture, […].”

This is an example of the age old complaint about language often made by older generations about younger generations. The idea that a particular language is going downhill has been around possibly as long as language has existed.