Bahasa Melayu should be made official language of Asean, says Rais

BANGKOK: The Malay language spoken by over 300 million or half the population of Southeast Asia should be made the official language of Asean, said sociocultural affairs adviser to the Malaysian government, Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim.

He said the Malay language needed to be used as the official language of diplomacy and communication by members of Asean in line with its position as the major language in the region.

“The main language in Southeast Asia is Bahasa Melayu but unfortunately, it is not placed where it should be, that is, as the official language of diplomacy and communication at Asean’s official ceremonies and events.”

He said this at a press conference here Saturday after delivering his keynote address at the ‘Malay World Meeting 2017’ forum, organised by the Federation of National Writers’ Associations Malaysia (Gapena) and the Malay World Islamic World or Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam (DMDI), Thailand.

Rais said Asean leaders using the Malay language need to play a role in promoting the Malay language agenda to bring it to a higher level in this region.

He said efforts to uplift the position of the Malay language in the region would also be in line with the proposal by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to make Bahasa Melayu the language of Asean by 2050.

He said at a 1987 Asean-level meeting on culture in Jakarta, Malaysia and Indonesia had made the effort to place Bahasa Melayu/Bahasa Indonesia as the regional association’s choice language for speeches and diplomacy, but it did not progress further.

Rais said raising the position of the Malay language in line with its status of being the main language in the region was only logical because if this was not done, English would be the region’s official language.

He said the Malay community would be nominal if the Malay language was not placed in a position where it should be in Asean and the region. — Bernama