the historical standard was the Johor-Riau dialect, a new standard known as sebutan baku (or bahasa melayu baku) was adopted in 1956 by the Third Malay language and Literary Congress. This variation was chosen to create consistency between the written word and the spoken pronunciation. However, implementation was slow, with Malaysia only fully adopting it in the educational system in 1988, with Singapore introducing it at the primary school level in 1993. Despite expanding use in formal education, it has not replaced the Johor-Riau pronunciation for most speakers. The artificial creation of the accent means there are no truly native speakers, and the pronunciation is closer to Indonesian than it is to Johor-Riau. There has also been cultural resistance, with accent differences between older and younger generations leading to questions surrounding Malay cultural identity. This question was further sharpened by Malaysia dropping sebutan baku in 2000, returning to the traditional use of Johor-Riau. English is also widely spoken. Arabic is more common among the Muslim religious teachers or locally known as Asatizahs, and is the preferred language learned by the more religious Malay/Muslims. Holidays and festivities Some of the major Muslim festivals celebrated every year among the Singapore's Malay/Muslim community include Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hari Raya Haji, Maal Hijrah and Maulidur Rasul, with the minor festivals includes Israk & Mikraj, Awal Ramadhan, Nuzul Alquran and Arafah Day. It is just as similar as their Muslim neighbour countries that was celebrated in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam. However, only Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Hari Raya Haji is recognised and gazetted as Muslim religious public holiday in Singapore despite the significant presence of Malay/Muslim community as indigenous in the country. Previously, Maulidur Rasul (birthday of Prophet Mohamed) has been recognised as public holiday prior to 1968 amendment of the 1966 Holidays Act, where since that two public holidays were designated each for both Muslim and Christian as well as one for Hindu community. It is implemented in purpose to improve business competitiveness and valid until now. Prior to the fasting month of Ramadan and Syawal, most Malay/Muslim settlements and streets will decorated with green-based or colourful decoration of Eid such as lights, Ketupat, pelita api (fire lamp) and many more, with most of them centered in Geylang Serai as the main Malay settlement area in Singapore. During the fasting month, Bazar Ramadhan (Ramadan bazaar(s)) are the most famous events during the holy