300 languages and dialects are spoken in Indonesia, but Bahasa Indonesia is the official and most widely spoken tongue. Its common use has helped unify the country since independence in 1949. Bahasa Indonesia is based on Malay, long the market language of coastal towns, and it contains elements of Chinese, Indian, Dutch, and English. In 1972 Indonesia and Malaysia, where the Malay-based Bahasa Malaysia is the official language, agreed on a revised and uniform system for spelling Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia. Today, television programs, major newspapers, schools, and universities all use Bahasa Indonesia.