Minister Says Bahasa Indonesia Is Better Than Malay As ASEAN's Second Language
Indonesian Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim said Bahasa Indonesia should be considered instead as it is the most spoken language in Southeast Asia.
By Sabrina Zainal — 06 Apr 2022, 04:07 PM
The Malaysian government's proposal to make Bahasa Melayu the second official language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc has been rejected by an Indonesian minister
Indonesian Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim said Bahasa Indonesia should be considered instead as it is the most spoken language in Southeast Asia.
On top of that, Indonesian is spoken across 47 countries in the world and is even taught as a subject at some of the leading institutions in Europe, the United States, Australia, and Asia, he was quoted as saying on Monday, 4 April by Indonesian news portal Kompas.com.
According to the former Gojek chief executive officer (CEO), the Indonesian language has also been taught to foreigners by 428 institutions.
Indonesian Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Nadiem Makarim
Image via WikipediaAs it has become an internationally recognised language, and with all its advantages in terms of history, law, and linguistics, Nadiem believes Bahasa Indonesia would be more fitting
He was also reported as saying that his ministry was entrusted to develop, expand, and protect the Indonesian language and literature, as well as uplift it to be recognised as an international language.
"I urge the entire community to work hand in hand with the government to continue to empower and defend the Indonesian national language," he stated.
"I, as Minister of Education and Culture, Research and Technology, of course reject the proposal."
"However, due to the desire of our friendly countries to propose Malay as the official language of ASEAN, of course this desire needs to be studied and discussed further at the regional level."
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob had earlier said that Malaysia and Indonesia will work together to uplift the status of Bahasa Melayu
This includes by making it an official language of ASEAN.
According to him, about 300 million speak the language, which is also used in Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste.
"So there is no reason why we cannot make Bahasa Melayu as one of the official languages of ASEAN," Ismail was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.
Meanwhile, head of the Indonesian language development agency Professor Endang Aminudin Aziz claims that the number of Indonesian speakers is much higher than Malay speakers.
"For example, now our population alone is 276 million (World Bank: 273.5 million), what is Malaysia's population? It's not even 100 million I think (World Bank: 32.37 million). If you add [the number of] Malay speakers in Brunei and southern Thailand, Indonesia's population would still be larger," Aminudin was reported as saying by detikcom.
