UNS — Recently, a discourse emerged regarding a proposal from Malaysia’s Prime Minister (PM), Ismail Sabri Yakoob, to designate Malay as the second official language in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Responding to the alleged proposal, many opposing parties arose and presented their point of view. One of them was Nadiem Anwar Makarim, M.B.A., the Minister of Education, culture, Research, and Technology (Minister of Education and Culture). A similar notion was also expressed by Dr. Kundharu Saddhono, S.S., M.Hum., lecturer in the Indonesian Language and Literature Education (PBSI) Study Program, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, who also serves as Indonesian language experts for Foreign Speakers (BIPA).
Dr. Kundharu argues that Bahasa Indonesia is much more suitable as the second language of ASEAN. This suggestion considers the international language requirements. “Indeed, if we look at the relationship with international language requirements, Bahasa Indonesia is far superior to Malay,” said Dr. Kundharu, Wednesday (13/4/2022).
Furthermore, Dr. Kundharu highlighted three aspects that make Bahasa Indonesia more suitable to become ASEAN’s second language than Malay. First, there are currently more than 270 million Indonesians who generally use Bahasa Indonesia in their daily life. Bahasa Indonesia has become the unifying language for all Indonesian people. When compared to Malay, it is apparent that Bahasa Indonesia is spoken by more speakers. Moreover, considering the BIPA program, Dr. Kundharu reveals that there are hundreds of BIPA organizing institutions abroad.
In his statement, Dr. Kundharu reveals that many foreign universities are opening Bahasa Indonesia Study Programs. In fact, PBSI’s Study Program in UNS has sent some of its students to internships in foreign universities to teach Bahasa Indonesia. “The study program has deployed numerous students abroad, for example, at Yale University, a top ten university globally. We’ve already deployed ten students to teach there. There are also some in Thailand and Turkey. Therefore, we assigned students to internship programs in various universities abroad to teach Bahasa Indonesia. This step will be one of the movements for the internationalization of Bahasa Indonesia,” explained Dr. Kundharu.
The next aspect that makes Bahasa Indonesia more feasible to become ASEAN’s second language is that the Ministry of Education and Culture has established a Language Agency, which will monitor and safeguard all the efforts taken for the internationalization of Bahasa Indonesia. This organization’s establishment is provided in Law No. 24 of 2009. The existence of the Ministry of Education and Culture Language Agency will maintain the honor of Bahasa Indonesia.
According to Dr. Kundharu, as an Indonesian, there are measures to support the Bahasa Indonesia defense movement. There are currently many social media twibbon campaigns circulating online for Indonesian citizens to actively voice their stance on this language discourse on their respective social media. The next step to support Bahasa Indonesia’s internationalization is proudly using Bahasa Indonesia in everyday life. UNS has participated in this effort through the PBSI Study Program that has deployed its students to an internship abroad to teach Bahasa Indonesia.
Prof. Kundharu also invites students to use Bahasa Indonesia proudly by cultivating a sense of belonging in each other’s personal lives. “If you have a sense of belonging, automatically it will be easier (to support Bahasa Indonesia). Hence, if we have cultivated a sense of belonging to our national language, Bahasa Indonesia, automatically, we will grow to be better. When Bahasa Indonesia becomes a unifying language, it will also provide a sense of honor and belonging for students,” he explained.
At the end of the interview, Dr. Kundharu emphasized the importance of Bahasa Indonesia as a unifying language and identity of the Indonesian nation. “This condition signifies why Bahasa Indonesia as a unifying language and national identity must be supported to become an international language. If Bahasa Indonesia becomes an international language, people will have the opportunity to learn it, which will lead Bahasa Indonesia to be the center of attention. This condition will certainly improve various national aspects such as politics and the economy. The impact will be extensive,” concluded Dr. Kundharu. Humas UNS
Reporter: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita
Editor: Dwi Hastuti