---
name: locale-ms-my
description: Use when working with the Malay (Malaysia) locale (`ms-MY`) — its endonym Bahasa Melayu (Malaysia), Latin script, left-to-right (LTR) direction, or spoken-population data. Reference data and translation guidance (register, grammar, idiom, typography) for this specific locale; see [[locale]] for general i18n/l10n concepts (BCP 47, plural rules, RTL) that apply across all locales.
---

# Locale: Malay (Malaysia) (ms-MY)

Reference data for the **Malay (Malaysia)** locale — endonym **Bahasa Melayu (Malaysia)**, written in the Latin script, left-to-right (LTR).

## Identifiers

- **BCP 47 tag:** `ms-MY`
- **ISO 639-1:** `ms`
- **ISO 639-3:** `msa`
- **Script:** Latn (Latin)
- **Region:** MY (Malaysia)
- **Text direction:** ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

## Speakers (approximate)

- **L1 (native):** 16,000,000
- **L2 (additional):** 10,000,000
- **L1+L2 (total):** 26,000,000

## Base locale

This is a regional variant of [[locale-ms-001]] (Malay), the base/macro locale for this language.

## Pluralization

CLDR plural categories for this locale: **other** (1 form).

- **other** — everything else (e.g. 0~15, 100, 1000, 10000, …)

See [[unicode-messageformat]] for writing plural messages using these categories.

## Translating into this locale

Apply [[locale-ms-001]] with the conventions of Malaysia.

- **Formats:** ringgit "RM12.50"; decimal point and comma for thousands; dates "17 Oktober 2026"; 24-hour clock.
- **Terminology:** use DBP terms and the Malaysian government's terminology (including Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu).
- **Titles:** Dato', Datuk, Tan Sri, Tun, and Dr are part of names; keep them in the correct order and abbreviations.
- **Multilingual context:** English, Chinese, and Tamil are widely used; Bahasa Melayu is the national language and language of government; Malaysian English words are often mixed in speech but not in formal text.

## Common pitfalls

- Mixing Indonesian forms or number format.
- Dropping honorific titles.
- The general pitfalls in [[locale-ms-001]] also apply.

## Learn more

- [[locale]] for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
- [[unicode-messageformat]] for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
- Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (https://www.dbp.gov.my)