Bahasa Indonesia-Melayu As Asean Language

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya NUSA DUA (BALI), Nov 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Indonesia have held consultations in connection with turning Bahasa Indonesia-Melayu (Indonesian-Malay Language) into an Asean language and a proposal on the matter will be prepared soon, said Information, Communications and Culture minister Dr Rais Yatim. He said the proposal would be brought up for discussions at other Asean meetings. "The proposal has to be looked into deeper because it contains implementation aspects in terms of the Asean charter itself. "For example, if we create a Bahasa Indonesia-Melayu, we need to look at the charter from its legal angle," he told Malaysian reporters after attending a retreat for Asean ministers responsible for culture and arts here Thursday. Rais said currently the Asean charter used the English Language, as such, the implementation of the proposal needed to be done carefully. "So Indonesia and Malaysia need to have a clear hold first and the Ikatan Setiakawan Wartawan Malaysia Indonesia (Iswami) (a journalists alliance between the two countries), God willing, will bring the matter a step further in the meeting session in Sulawesi or Yogyakarta in the near future," he said. Rais said although there was legal implications over the proposal, its implementation from the aspect of culture could still be carried out. Prior to this, Rais had submitted a proposal to make Bahasa Indonesia-Melayu as an Asean language because the language is spoken by the majority in the Asean region. The proposal, among others, was also debated during this writer's meeting with Malaysia-Indonesia scholars, organised by Iswami in Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatera, more than a month ago. In the retreat session Thursday, the Asean cultural ministers unanimously formulated a seven point declaration on the direction of the content of a programme for an Asean Socio-Cultural Community. -- BERNAMA