Because mainstream secondary instruction is in Malay, children of Chinese or Indian descent have to learn three languages in primary school: their mother tongue, plus Malay and English.
由於母語只在小學階段教授，升上中學後，多數人需以馬來文為媒介受教育，因此，馬來西亞的華裔或印裔孩子在小學都必須學習三種語文，即母語加上馬來文與英文。