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Sejarah telah membuktikan bahawa bahasa Melayu pernah muncul sebagai lingua franca ratusan tahun yang lalu sekali gus merupakan refleksi kepada kehebatan dan ketinggian darjat bahasa tersebut. Lingua franca merujuk kepada bahasa perantara atau bahasa perhubungan antara masyarakat dengan golongan yang berlainan bahasa. Hal ini bermaksud bahasa Melayu merupakan bahasa pergaulan yang mudah dipelajari dan difahami oleh sesiapa sahaja. Lantaran itu, bahasa tersebut berupaya bertindak sebagai jambatan ke arah pengharmonian dan perpaduan dalam kalangan para penuturnya kerana keserasian serta kesefahaman mereka melalui satu bahasa pertuturan yang sama. Kehebatan bahasa Melayu juga turut terserlah apabila perjanjian- perjanjian penting antara pihak penjajah dengan Raja-raja Melayu turut dibuat dalan bahasa Melayu bertulisan jawi seperti Perjanjian Pangkor 1874. Malah ketika zaman penjajahan, bahasa Melayu tidak pernah dihapuskan oleh penjajah. Seterusnya status bahasa Melayu telah diangkat sebagai salah satu daripada elemen-elemen tradisi dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Situasi ini memaparkan bahasa Melayu merupakan sumber jati diri yang kukuh serta berupaya membentuk semangat patriotisme setiap penuturnya yang bergelar rakyat Malaysia. Namun realiti yang berlaku agak berbeza apabila terdapat sebilangan warganegara yang fasih berbahasa Melayu telah memaparkan sikap tidak patriotik mereka secara terang-terangan, terutamanya melalui media sosial. Justeru, kajian ini dilakukan secara kuantitatif untuk meneliti pendirian generasi muda di negara ini terhadap keupayaan bahasa Melayu sebagai wadah semangat patriotisme. Responden kajian ini terdiri daripada 400 mahasiswa Universiti Putra Malaysia dan 400 mahasiswa Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. Hasil kajian memaparkan majoriti responden berpendirian bahawa bahasa Melayu sememangnya berupaya bertindak sebagai  wadah patriotisme.

Support for Islam has often been described as part of the Malaysian government's drive for Islamization, commonly known as 'Islamization policy'. The concept of an 'Islamization policy' is contested, open to various interpretations since it is not officially defined in any government blueprint. This paper highlights the perspectives of a number of religious groups on Islamization policy. The study covered the period from 1981 until 2009, which includes the Mahathir Mohamed and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administrations. Using a policy analysis lens, the paper focuses on the perspective of the groups regarding the idea of Islamization as a public policy; the meaning and status of Islamization policy. The patterns indicate that the views are more complex than just 'for' and 'against,' although the patterns of perception are based on two divergent views: those who support the policy (the proponents) and those who oppose it (the opponents). This diversity is significant in that it helps to provide a better understanding of some multi-religious perspectives towards Islamization policy, as well as highlighting the different interests and concerns of both Muslim and non-Muslim communities towards the policy.

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Contemporary discourses on political trust study have always assumed that there is a direct relationship between trust in government; democratization and effectiveness in governance. However, the gradual decline of political trust has compelled scholars to revise this predominant notion. Reconceptualization of political trust to accommodate the on-going empirical findings has shown its conceptual resiliency. So, the question remains as to how political trust relates to democracy. This paper aims to suggest other developments that are currently overlooked by the traditional political trust studies but will eventually challenge the conventional understanding of the concept. By fostering more in-depth discussion, particular developments are specified; these include the implications of methodological sophistication, current interest in non-democracy or new democracy, and overgrown government institutions. The challenges and future outlook are also briefly discussed. The focus of this review confines to the relevant literature that provides crucial insights into the discussion of similar themes. The selection of published literature draws on databases or online resources in the past 20 years is guided by the application of key concepts such as measurement equivalent, post-communism, and so on. Overall, the resiliency of the political trust concept is found as viable as before, yet the new insights will enrich the multifaceted meaning of political trust concept. This paper offers not a conclusive answer to the challenges, but it set forth intelligibly the need to recognize some critical issues that are beyond the traditional trajectory. It straightens out the need for scholars to be more methodological informed, socio-culturally sensitive, and aware of the complexities of government institutions when researching in the future.