The Situation of Malaysian Sign Language (BIM) in Schools The Malaysian Sign Language or Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM) has been officially recognized in the Disability Act 2008 as the native language of the Deaf. Since the inception of the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf in 1997, concerted efforts have been made to promote the standardization and use of language through the publications of BIM handbooks for use in schools for the Deaf and in the teaching of BIM to the public in general. Nevertheless, the implementation of BIM as the medium of instruction has received mixed reactions from educators as many have trepidation that it may hinder students in learning Malay and English as a second language. Therefore, teachers often switch between signing exact Malay or KTBM and BIM in the classroom. Outside of the formal learning environment, however, students are often seen to converse naturally in BIM. Such is the landscape of the use of BIM among Deaf school children in Malaysia.

.