Why malay language as the national language of malaysia?

Question

Why malay language as the national language of malaysia?

Answer 1

I  know!  It should be Chinese.

Answer 2

Why not? In France, it's French; in Italy, it's Italian; in China, it's Chinese (Mandarin, or Cantonese).

So why can't Malay be the official language of Malaysia?

Answer 3

I would think it's because the Malays were the indigenous people of the largest part of Malaysia (and probably they are still the majority of the population of Malaysia and Indonesia). I believe the Malay language is also the official language of Indonesia, where it is called the Indonesian Language. It also seems to be the basis of the language spoken by Straits Chinese.