Govt policy on Bahasa Indonesia draws mixed reactions<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Expatriates working in Indonesia have expressed mixed reactions
\nto the government's planned policy requiring them to speak in
\nBahasa Indonesia, a national language in Indonesia with some
\nsupporting the move and many others calling it unwise.<\/p>\n
An Indian, R. Chandrasekaran, a senior official at publicly
\nlisted company PT Indorama Synthetics supported the minister's
\nplan, saying it was quite important for foreigners to speak
\nBahasa in their social interaction with locals.<\/p>\n
\"We have anticipated the policy by implementing it in our
\ncompany. So we have no problem with the plan,\" he told the
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Candrasekaran said all foreigners in his firm understood quite
\nclearly those who speak with them in Bahasa Indonesia, but they
\nmight only be able to speak a little Bahasa Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Mazen Hamadallah, a French national and the President and
\nCountry' Senior Officer of telecommunication firm Alcatel
\nIndonesia agreed with Candrasekaran.<\/p>\n
He said he did not mind if foreigners working in Indonesia
\nwere obliged to speak Bahasa.<\/p>\n
\"It's a nice language... I like it,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
However, Hamadallah said he only spoke a little Bahasa
\nIndonesia due to limited time to learn the language.<\/p>\n
Besides, he said, many Indonesian workers in his Jakarta
\noffice could speak English well, thus he did not need to speak
\nBahasa.<\/p>\n
\"When I have more leisure time, I'll learn Bahasa Indonesia,\"
\nHamadallah said. \"It's just a matter of time for me.\"<\/p>\n
But an American, Oisin Lane of water treatment company PT Dyna
\nAir criticized the government's policy, saying it could
\ndiscourage new foreign investors from investing in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Companies would think it would be better to invest in other
\ncountries supporting foreign investors that don't require them to
\nspeak local languages, he added.<\/p>\n
According to him, foreigners would learn Bahasa Indonesia up
\nto a certain level to better understand the country as well as
\nthe people.<\/p>\n
\"Many large foreign firms here have classes for foreigners to
\ncommunicate in Bahasa Indonesia to a certain level, but it's not
\nwise to force them to speak Bahasa,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Lane also said that as more and more Indonesians were able to
\nspeak English due to their higher education, the proposed policy
\nto oblige foreigners working here to communicate in Bahasa
\nIndonesia seemed redundant.<\/p>\n
Minister Jacob said on Sunday that all foreigners working in
\nIndonesia would soon have to understand and be able to
\ncommunicate in Bahasa Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He asserted that foreigners' ability to understand Bahasa
\nIndonesia was important for communication.<\/p>\n
The regulation will be discussed at the Cabinet level soon.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-policy-on-bahasa-indonesia-draws-mixed-reactions-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }