A fight has started, just like with the fights over Wau or Rendang, between Malaysia and Indonesia over which Bahasa should the Asean adopt?
Malaysia PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob started the ball rolling when he said Malaysia will press the Asean to decide to put the Malay language as an official Asean language. Now Indonesia is saying it must be Bahasa Indonesia, not Bahasa Malaysia.
Here’s what the Indonesian education, culture, research and technology minister Nadiem Makarim said: “As the minister responsible, I object to the proposal. Such a suggestion needs to be discussed and debated at a regional level before any decision is made,” he told the Indonesian daily Kompas yesterday. Looking at it historically and linguistically, BI is a better choice. I urge the entire community to work hand in hand with the government to continue to empower and defend the Indonesian national language.”
