KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia's Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Makarim has rejected Malaysia's proposal to make Bahasa Melayu or the Malay language, Asean's 'second language'.
Nadiem said the proposal needed to be studied further and stressed that Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) deserves to be recognised as Asean's second language considering its history and legacy.
Indonesia's news portal kompas.com reported him as saying that his ministry was entrusted to develop, build and protect the Indonesian language and literature, as well as uplift Indonesian to be recognised as a global language.
"I, as Mendikbudristek (Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology), certainly reject the proposal.
"However, because there is a desire of our friendly neighbouring country (negara Sahabat) to propose Bahasa Melayu as the second language for Asean, of course the desire needs to be studied and discussed further at the regional level.
"I urge the whole community to work hand-in-hand with the government to continue to empower and defend the Indonesian language, " he was quoted as saying yesterday (April 4).
According to 'Ethnologue: Languages of the World', Indonesian ranks 10 globally as the most spoken language with 199 million speakers. It is a standardised variety of Malay, an Austronesian language.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had on March 23 several initiatives to be implemented by the government to further strengthen the use of Bahasa Melayu in the country and elevate the position of the national language at the international stage.
Among them, he said Malaysia aims to make Bahasa Melayu as the second language in Asean.
Nadiem further said Bahasa Indonesia has become one of the widely spoken languages in the Asean region and is also spoken across 47 countries in the world.
Indonesian, he said is also taught as a subject at some of the leading institutions in Europe, the United States, Australia, and Asia.
"With all the advantages that the Indonesian language has in terms of history, law (hukum), and linguistics, as well as how it has become an internationally recognised language, it is fitting that Indonesian language sits at the forefront, and if possible be the medium of communication for official Asean meetings," he was quoted as saying.
Ismail Sabri, had on April 1, in a joint press conference with Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Malaysia and Indonesia would continue efforts to uplift the status of Bahasa Melayu, which may become an Asean language one day.