Balikpapan – According to the chairman of the East Kalimantan Language Agency, Halimi Hadibrata, UNESCO has requested that Bahasa Indonesia be added to the list of official languages of the United Nations (UN).
“On May 25, 2023, UNESCO proposed using Bahasa Indonesia in the United Nations.” “If agreed upon in the November 2023 session, the Indonesian language, along with other languages, will officially become an international language,” Hadibrata added.
He believes that Bahasa Indonesia is ready to become global.
Hadibrata stated at an educational programme to boost literacy among the younger generation that Bahasa Indonesia being an official UN language will improve the nation’s image.
It would not only serve as a home unifier for the country, but it will also have a good impact on the world stage, he continued.
“Our language will become an international language, and laws related to it and the idea of Pancasila will be translated into international languages, including discussion and so on,” Hadibrata added.
This global success must be recognised, particularly by the Indonesian people, by continuing to protect and preserve the language via everyday communication, he said.
According to him, the milestone is in line with the aim stated at the Bahasa Indonesia Congress five years ago of making Indonesian a universal language by 2045.
“With the language agency’s efforts, this (internationalisation) effort will be brought to the UN session this year; this hard work deserves recognition,” he added.
The 11th Indonesian Language Congress, which took place in Jakarta from October 28 to October 31, 2018, produced 22 proposals.
One of the recommendations was for the Indonesian language to be internationalised.
In this regard, the government has been requested to control the use of foreign languages as the language of teaching in schools and to boost literary studies in order to improve the quality of education and literacy through the use of digital devices and information technology.
Source: Antara News
