KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 -- The term Bahasa Melayu cannot be replaced with Bahasa Malaysia, according to local Malay language expert Professor Emeritus Datuk Asmah Omar.

The Malay grammarian told the International Symposium on Bahasa Melayu that changing the name of the language will drown out its history entirely, Berita Harian reported today

'The name of a language is important because it is where you have its history, its ethnic background, where it originated and the time-depth of its use.

'If Bahasa Melayu is replaced with another name, such as Bahasa Malaysia, then it will erase its origins and history," she was quoted as saying during her speech titled Martabat Bahasa Kebangsaan (The Dignity of the National Language) at the Wisma De...