13th edition of Indonesian course begins in Jeddah
A three-month Indonesian language program was officially inaugurated by Indonesian Consul General Mohamad Hery Saripudin on Sunday in Jeddah. The course is running for the 13th time.
Col. Suleiman Al-Yousef, director of passports at King Abdulaziz International Airport, students, trainers and consulate officials attended the opening session.
In his opening remarks, Saripudin revealed that several centers for Indonesian studies will be opened in Saudi universities to offer more opportunities to learn Indonesian and to broaden knowledge of Indonesian culture.
“I have witnessed growing interest among Saudis to learn Indonesian,” he said. “We can see that from the growing number of applicants registering for the class.”
The consulate received 170 applications for the latest course. Due to limited places, however, only 90 were admitted to the program.
Saripudin emphasized the benefits of mastering the Indonesian language, which is spoken by more than 300 million people, not only in Indonesia but also in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, he said.
The number of Indonesian visitors to the Kingdom for both Hajj and Umrah is around 1.2 million every year, which means every month there are about 100,000 Indonesians entering the Kingdom, mostly to visit Jeddah, Madinah and Makkah. Saripudin pointed out that Indonesian was therefore “not only a language of social encounters, but also for business.”
Jakarta has been appointed this year’s Capital Diplomatic City of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), meaning now is a better time than ever to learn Indonesian, he added.
Saudi King Salman visited Indonesia in March last year, and there has since been a significant increase in trade volume between two countries and in the number of Saudis visiting Indonesia.
“Indonesians consider Saudis as part of their family,” Saripudin said. “That’s why Aceh, on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, is called the Gate of Makkah.”
Umar Badarsyah, vice consul of information and culture at the consulate, and head of the program’s admission team, said that there have been more than 500 graduates since the program was launched in 2006.