Inggeris and Britain

Inggeris and Britain

Jeremy Gibbons gave a public service in the April l7, 1995
issue of The Jakarta Post when he raised the subject of the
irksome habit of Indonesians naming the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland Inggeris. Although I am English, I
can well understand the Scots, Welsh and Irish displeasure at
being lumped together with the English in this casual way. No
Sumatran or Balinese would wish to be called Orang Jawa. The
parallel is exact. In calling a Scot or Welshperson -- let alone
a citizen of the Republic of Ireland -- Orang Inggeris, you
invite trouble.

It is worse than that. Recently, in deference no doubt to her
Indonesian audience, the ineffable Rosemary Church on Australia
Television News has been heard to entitle Queen Elizabeth II The
Queen of England; which seems a bit odd, and a trifle
disingenuous. Unless I missed something, Queen Elizabeth is still
Queen of Australia. If there are any royalists left to act upon
such treachery, heads should roll before Australia Television
becomes a nest of republican vipers.

When did all this start? With that quintessential Englishman
Sir Stamford Raffles, perhaps? Might I suggest the Indonesian
Government begins to change this long-ingrained habit? Persatuan
Kerajaan seems an appropriate translation of the United Kingdom,
and, with the Indonesian penchant for abbreviating everything in
sight, PerKeraj has a ring about it. But then, Britain and
British are not exactly difficult words to get one's tongue
around. TVRI reporters have shown their mettle and persevered
admirably with "Uzbekistan."

ROBERT WALKER

Karangasem, Bali