The publication of instructional booklets on how to speak and use Malay aimed to popularise the language and was the clearest indication yet of the important role that language played in the nation-building process. Deemed the National Language by the government, Malay was regarded as the medium to help foster a common Malayan identity among the people of Singapore. As some of the lessons in these booklets were bilingual in nature, the interaction between non-Malay and Malay readers could play a part in breaking down communal barriers and cementing cultural unity along the way.
