Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka ( en, Institute of Language and Literature, Jawi: ديوان بهاس دان ڤوستاک), abbreviated DBP, is the government body responsible for coordinating the use of the

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...

and Malay-language literature in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

History

DBP Malaysia was established as Balai Pustaka in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. ...

on 22 June 1956, It was placed under the purview of the then Malayan Ministry of Education. During the ''Kongres Bahasa dan Persuratan Melayu III'' (The Third Malay Literary and Language Congress) which was held between 16 and 21 September 1956 in both Singapore and Johor Bahru, Balai Pustaka was renamed Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. Royal Prof Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid was instrumental in setting up the institution. In 1957, DBP moved from

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. Through ''Ordinan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka 1959'', DBP was granted a charter with its own Board of Governors. With the charter, DBP has the power to form policies regarding the Malay language, responsible to spread the language and is able to go into book publishing business. On 31 January 1962, DBP moved to its own building at Jalan Lapangan Terbang Lama (now Jalan Dewan Bahasa). The building's architect was

Lee Yoon Thim Dato' Y. T. Lee, also Lee Yoon Thim (; 1905–1977) was a Malaysian Chinese architect active in Kuala Lumpur in the 1950s and 1960s. He helped "Build Merdeka" after Malaysian Independence, 1963. He moved in elite circles, and held several posit ...

and the prominent mural was by Ismail Mustam. Later in 1977, it opened offices in

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

and

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sar ...

, taking over the role of Borneo Literature Bureau (BLB) in Sarawak. Soon after that, DBP had all the books in

Iban language The Iban language () is spoken by the Iban, a branch of the Dayak ethnic group, who live in Brunei, the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan and in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It belongs to the Malayic languages, a Malayo-Polynesian branc ...

and other Bornean languages buried. However, some books were found and rescued. It was later alleged that all the books were burnt. Initially, DBP officials insisted on publishing works in national language (

) or other vernaculars. However, soon after that DBP stated that they cannot publish books in regional languages because this would be against its own policy and is not economically sound in a small market of readers. Regarding the allegation that books of BLB were burnt, former Sarawak state DBP deputy director said that old books were written off or given away when it was expired, no longer needed, or there were overstocks. Three other offices were established in Bukit Mertajam (1999),

Kota Bharu Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River. The ...

(1999) and Johor Bahru (2003). The institution celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006. DBP also produces many talented novelists. Most outstanding DBP novel writers are Miss Siti Habsah Abdullah, Mrs. Malardevi Margamuthu, and Mr.Syed Satahkatulah Bin Mohamed Kalik.

Dictionary and other publications

DBP publishes the Kamus Dewan, for many years the prestigious dictionary of the Malaysian national language. The dictionary is not only descriptive, but rather it is also prescriptive, as it represents the results of the efforts of DBP to adapt the

to accommodate the challenges of technology and science. DBP's role in developing and regulating the language may be likened to that of similar government bodies in other countries, for example the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

. It also processes many books, mainly work books and

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

References

External links

DBP Malaysia
* {{authority control 1956 establishments in Malaya Book publishing companies of Malaysia Government agencies established in 1956 Language regulators Malay language Federal ministries, departments and agencies of Malaysia Ministry of Education (Malaysia)