* Malay is a language, not a national language: While Malay is the national language of several countries, it's spoken by many other people in different regions.
* Dialects and variations: Malay has numerous dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible.
* Language families: Malay belongs to the Austronesian language family, which includes many languages spoken across Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Madagascar.
Instead of counting countries, it's more accurate to say:
* Malay is an official language in: Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia (as Bahasa Indonesia), and Singapore.
* Malay is also spoken in: Parts of Thailand, the Philippines, and other parts of Southeast Asia.
So, the answer is not a specific number of countries, but rather a list of countries and regions where Malay is spoken.