YOURSAY | Indonesia throws spanner in the works for BM supremacy

YOURSAY | ‘The proposal to make BM Asean's second language is mind-boggling.’

Indonesian minister rejects proposal to make BM Asean's second language

MerdekaMerdekaMerdeka: Indonesia’s Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim has called for all Indonesians to defend Bahasa Indonesia, claiming that it has become the most prominent language being used in Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, instead of strengthening bilateral ties with our neighbours, you have gone and created animosity over this issue between our two nations.

He suggested for Bahasa Malaysia (BM) to be the Asean region’s lingua franca - an Indonesian tribal dialect brought to the peninsula by those who fled in antiquity to seek refuge here.

That, in itself, is an insult to Indonesians.

Way To Go: The proposal to make BM Asean's second language is mind-boggling. Has the prime minister explained the rationale for such a proposal?

Does this mean all Asean members must be conversant in spoken and written BM? Or is the PM suggesting the use of translators at Asean meetings as that proposed for our ministers at international forums and our foreign embassies?

Why not Thai, Chinese or Tagalog or the native language of other Asean members? Why BM in particular?

BM is a developing language in that we see the use of new words being coined and many borrowed from other languages.

For that matter, in developing the language, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka ought to have borrowed more from Bahasa Indonesia than any other language as BM is seen as an offshoot of Bahasa Indonesia as early Malays are said to have migrated mostly from surrounding Indonesian islands.

At least then Indonesia may not have outright rejected the PM's proposal to make Bahasa Malaysia the second language in Asean’s communication.

Proarte: Logically, Bahasa Indonesia should take precedence over BM because it is used by 10 times more people and because most Malays have Indonesian roots.

English being a neutral language and also being an international language, it is the best language to unite all the nations in Asean.

The focus should be on unity and not the evil disease of "ketuanan".

Anon25: I am sorry but when the prime minister makes statements like this, it shows his poor ability to speak and understand English. That is a drawback for a modern prime minister. It is better to hide it.

Indonesians who interact internationally all speak English fluently and are proud of this ability. They are also more down-to-earth and practical.

Indonesia has the highest number of Muslims in the world. Yet they have easy-to-remember names like Jokowi and Nadiem. That is class.

I agree with the Indonesian minister. Why BM and not Bahasa Indonesia? Incidentally, Nadiem speaks fluent English and is proud of it. I know him.

IndigoKancil5615: I think Ismail Sabri’s objective of promoting BM as the second Asean language is to shore up his popularity in the coming general election.

If Indonesia had accepted his idiotic idea, then he can ‘cakap besar’ (big talk) in his ceramah of his international influence and him having a strong reason for forcing BM down the throat of our vernacular schools.

Indonesia's rejection of his idea only demonstrates that their country does not want the regressive ‘ketuanan’ culture to pollute their plural society.

6th Generation Immigrant: Ismail Sabri's short-sightedness, shallow politics and personal glory exercise to promote BM have actually opened up a can of worms instead.

That Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia issue that was swept underneath the carpet throughout the years has suddenly reared its head to come back and haunt us and with an international flavour this time - just like that highly debated ‘batik’ issue being our and Indonesia's national dress.

Whether it is Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Indonesia, surely Ismail Sabri should have learnt (from true and actual history) that this derivative language is actually a language of our culture and civilisation without boundaries and throughout history contributed by all - Malays, Arabs, Tamils, Sanskrit, Indonesia, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Orang Asli, Thais, Burmese, et cetera.

The fact that we claimed it as Bahasa Malaysia is to deride history that's real and proper.

Indonesia states that Bahasa Indonesia is widely used in United Nations, international forums and even in Borneo and Singapore. Wither is Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia from this Ismail Sabri gambit?

WhiteMoose0037: It is time Ismail Sabri carries himself like a statesman. The Indonesians are far ahead in their vision for their country.

They are fully aware that Malaysian leaders have no calibre and are backwards in their thinking. They look at Singapore and Australia as role models. It is time Ismail Sabri knows his standing on the world stage.

Slip Sliding Away: This is what happens when you put your foot in your mouth. It will be a cold day in hell if the Indonesians accept Bahasa Melayu, let alone Bahasa Malaysia, as the official language.

It's not about language at all, it's about nationalistic pride. They won't let us even own our satay, our laksa or our wayang kulit. Do you think they will ever concede that their language is Bahasa Malaysia?

Siva1967: So why do you think our prime minister proposed this and why do you think our Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah sent a letter to the US secretary of state in Bahasa Malaysia?

My guess is to gain political mileage among the Malays. By stating something as simple as this, he was giving the impression that he is the “fighter of bahasa and bangsa”.

And now it backfired with Indonesia pushing for their Bahasa Indonesia and maybe later Thailand would push for theirs and everyone goes around the mulberry bush singing ‘Kumbaya’.

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