TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- Dato' Seri Zahrain Mohammad Hashim, the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, explained the Malaysian government plan to cooperate with Indonesia in creating a certain standard for the Malay language. Zahrain said that he had discussed the issue with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Zahrain asserted that the plan was created because the language of the Malaysian and the Indonesian people stems from the same root, which is Bahasa Indonesia. "We are looking for ways to [improve] people to people [diplomacy] through language. We want the [Malay] language to be standardized," Zahrain said during his visit to Tempo office on Monday, March 23, 2015.
Zahrain said that language is not merely a tool for communication, but also a tool of knowledge and business. Zahrain said that he even had a plan to globalize Malay language. "We'll make [Malay] language an international language," Zahrain said.
To achieve that goal, the Malaysian and Indonesian government will establish a council to address differences in both countries language. Malaysia has appointed Rais Yatim, former Malaysian Information and Culture Minister as its representative in the council. "We consider [Rais Yatim] as our middle person," Zahrain said.
The Malaysian government had even established the Yayasan Ikatan Rakyat Malaysia-Indonesia (Malaysian-Indonesian Relationship Foundation) to handle language and cultural issues. Meanwhile, Zahrain said that he is still waiting for confirmation from Vice President Jusuf Kalla. In addition with Jusuf Kalla, Zahrain said that he had also talked with Education and Culture Minister Anies Baswedan to establish cooperation in the cultural and language sector.
ATMI PERTIWI | BUNGA PADMA
