People-To-People Relations Between M'sia And Indonesia Can Be Enhanced Further

JAKARTA, March 9 (Bernama) -- People-to-people relations between Malaysia and Indonesia can be enhanced further through various channels to ensure continuity and bring the Nusantara civilisation (of the Malay archipelago) to greater heights, said Malaysian Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim. He said the ties that bound both the peoples included history, language, culture, education and economy. "Both in Indonesia and Malaysia we have enough numbers of people who are matured in their thinking, serious and value the people-to-people relations between the two countries," he said when delivering his keynote address titled " "Demi Hubungan Erat dan Mesra Rakyat Malaysia-Indonesia" (Towards closer people-to-people relations between Indonesia and Malaysia" at the launching of the Malaysia Corner at Universiti Indonesia (University of Indonesia) here Thursday. Rais said the main step to be taken was to expose the younger generation to the history and realities of the two communities so as to minimise external negative influences which were out to weaken the Nusantara culture. "The younger generation today is not taking the history of the peoples of Malaysia and Indonesia seriously because the majority of them have been more taken in by their new world, universal human rights, the Internet, social media and peer pressure. "And furthermore, our schools, universities are no longer bothered about the nusantara heritage unlike China which is very serious in managing its pan-Sino cultural-political influence," he said. Rais said both countries were intertwined closely through various cultural practices and lifestyle to this day and these were not limited to music, songs and dances. ""The culture and the way the two peoples live and daily lives is very important if seen as the binding factor. Our alikeness is not only in the way we look and physically but also in other aspects of life," he said. The Minangkabau (people) if they were to go to Negeri Sembilan (in Malaysia) would feel just at home because the language and food were the same and likewise if the Bugis from Pahang or Selangor were to return to Sulawesi, he said. "Our Acehnese in Perak, Javanese in Johor and Selangor, friends from Banjarmasin are very comfortable in southern Perak. The way of life of the Bugis, Javanese, Minangkabau, Acehnese, people of Banjar, Benkulu and Mendahiling origin and scores of other Malay ethnic groups has been handed down since their ancestors. "Whether it is eating gulai, tempeh goreng, samba lado, nasi lemak, rendang, or kuih-muih lamang angek, pulut bersantan, kuih koci, or fashion like wearing the songkok or sarong; cultural performances like the mak inang, joget, zapin, serampang laut, randai, rindin-barindin dances and others – they all exist both in Indonesia and Malaysia," he said. Rais said the cultural and way of life aspects was clearly manifested by the fact that out of the 2.5 to 3.0 million foreign workers in Malaysia, 70 per cent of them were Indonesians, who were estimated to remit home RM6 billion annually. Some of them, he said, had become permanent residents or citizens in Malaysia while there were also cases of Indonesians from Kalimantan settling down in Sabah and Sarawak, east Malaysia's states. As such, Rais said the peoples of the two countries need to be continuosly made aware of the importance of maintaining close people-to-people ties. Rais said the language aspects needed to be given special mention because the ease in communicating in Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu (Malay language)allowed for easy assimilation of the two peoples. He stressed that although the were differences in structure and vocabulary, generally the two languages were not very much different, like British English and American English. Rais reiterated that the use of Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu needed to be expanded for its commercial value and as a tool to unify the peoples of the two countries. The committee handling the terms and joint use of the two languages should continue to promote common usage, he said, adding that the world of Indonesia-Malaysia broadcasting also needed a shot in the arm as it was on the wane unlike before. "We need to inject a new spirit and come up with new programmes so that our peoples will continue to have channels centred on our culture," he said. He said with almost 300 million speaking Bahasa Indonesia-Bahasa Melayu, there should be world recognition for the languages in diplomacy, commerce, culture and others. He said the Nusantara people in Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand, Kompong Song in Cambodia, South Africa and Sri Lanka would be proud if regional efforts were taken to expand Bahasa Indonesia-Bahasa Malaysia. "The benefits are very clear: our publishing industry will expand with readership running into the millions, so too the film and theatre industries. The economic spinoffs will be very great. "Possibly our films can be better than those of the Koreans, Japanese, Thais and others if our collaboration is raised to a higher commercial level," he said. Rais said related non-governmental organisations (involved in arts and culture, writing and broadcasting) should be given more room towards pursuing this objective. He added that the two countries could merge their strengths in this through platforms like the Asean Cultural Programme and collaboration through their higher education institutions. -- BERNAMA