When Jawi Was Lost, So Was the Soul of the Malay Language

The Malay language, Bahasa Melayu was once the unifying tongue of the Malay Archipelago, flowing across rivers, islands, and generations. But its heartbeat was Jawi, the beautiful Arabic-derived script that connected the Malay world not only to its own traditions and wisdom but also to the broader Islamic civilisation. When the Malay language was detached from Jawi, it lost more than just a script, it lost its soul, its depth, and its sanctity.

Jawi: More Than a Script

Jawi is not just a writing system. It is a legacy. It brought Islam to the Malays, preserved classical Malay literature, and recorded royal decrees, treaties, and scholarly texts. From Hikayat Hang Tuah to Surat Raja-Raja Melayu, Jawi gave the Malay language dignity, refinement, and a spiritual compass. It carried meanings that Latin letters often struggle to convey, rich in adab, poetic rhythm, and Islamic vocabulary rooted in Arabic and Persian.

The earliest generations of ulama, sasterawan, and raja-raja Melayu used Jawi as their primary vehicle of communication, governance, and dakwah. Through Jawi, the Malay worldview was formed, one that harmonised Islamic values with indigenous culture. That worldview is now eroding.

The Shift to Rumi and the Rise of Functionalism

The colonisation of the Malay world by the British, Dutch, and others brought with it not just economic and political changes, but linguistic transformation. Latin script (Rumi) was gradually introduced, and by the mid-20th century, it had overtaken Jawi as the dominant form of writing.

While Rumi helped with standardisations, printing efficiency, and integration into a modern administrative system, it also marked the beginning of a functionalization of the Malay language. Language was reduced to a tool to count, to calculate, to govern. Words once spoken with spiritual resonance became mechanical. Terms like rahmat, hikmah, and maqasid lost their original weight when cut off from their Jawi-imbued contexts.

Loss of Identity and Depth

The detachment from Jawi has contributed to a disconnection from classical texts, Islamic scholarship, and deeper meanings embedded in Malay proverbs and expressions. A new generation of Malays now struggles to read the kitab-kitab kuning or appreciate the wisdom of Gurindam Dua Belas and Pantun Lama.

Language is not neutral, it shapes how we think, feel, and act. Without Jawi, many Malay youths today cannot access the intellectual and spiritual legacy of their forebears. The result? A community more susceptible to Western materialism, postmodern relativism, and cultural amnesia.

Reclaiming the Sacred

If we want to restore dignity and depth to the Malay language, we must begin by reintegrating Jawi, not as a mere aesthetic or nostalgic ornament, but as a living script of identity and intellect. It’s not about rejecting modernity, but about anchoring progress in authenticity. Many other nations have done this: Japan retained Kanji; Arabs never abandoned Arabic script; Jews revived Hebrew.

Why not us?

Teaching Jawi in schools should go beyond technical literacy, it should be about reconnecting with our literary heritage, Qur’anic worldview, and collective memory. Jawi is a gatekeeper to the Malay soul. To lose it is to float rootless.

A Language Without a Root Is a Leaf in the Wind

As we move forward into the digital age, the survival of the Malay language depends not just on its presence in technology, academia, or media, but on whether it retains its original ruh, its soul. And that soul was once written in strokes of Jawi.

Let us not be a people who mourn what was lost only after it’s too late to recover. Let the revival of Jawi be the beginning of a renaissance, not just of script, but of spirit.

“Jangan sesekali kita biarkan bahasa kita tinggal jasad tanpa roh, kerana bangsa yang hilang rohnya akan mudah dijajah sekali lagi, bukan oleh tentera, tetapi oleh cara fikir dan budaya yang asing.”