An early design of the coat of arms used between 1948 and 1963 used a variation of the motto, "Unity is Strength". It was in both English and Jawi. After three more states were added into the federation in 1963, the English motto of the arms was replaced by a rough Malay translation, "Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu" (literally "Unity Improves Quality"). The Jawi motto remained unchanged.