Examples of early Malay script are extremely rare, with the earliest example of Malay text being found on the Batu Bersurat Trengganu which was only dated back to the late 1300s, while the oldest Malay manuscript in existence was written in the 1600s.
Both were written in Jawi - the Arabic script loaned and adapted for the use of Malay, and presumably introduced by Arab traders along with the spread of Islam in the early 14th Century.
Prior to this, Malay was believed to have been written in Kawi - a rough combination of Javanese and Arabic script that has baffled early scholars who were unable to decipher the texts.
This, however, does not mean that the development of Malay had been slow nor devoid of a rich evolution.
Rare authentic examples of early Malay script proved that Malay by the late 13th century had had a remarkable past which evolved under the influence of Sanskrit, Arabic and Polynesian cultures to become a language that was able to create a vast heritage of sophisticated poetry and literature.