New campaign for Indonesian sign language

JAKARTA (JP): A campaign to popularize the of use of sign language opened yesterday for the benefit of the deaf and mute.

The Ministry of Education and Culture launched the first ever Bahasa Indonesia sign language which is expected to become the standard system to be used nationwide.

Minister Wardiman Djojonegoro, during the book's launching ceremony, also appealed to state and private television networks to start using sign language simultaneously in their news broadcast as part of the campaign.

The appeal was quickly put into effect, at least by the state- owned TVRI network, in its afternoon news broadcast yesterday. A translator seated next to the broadcaster was seen 'translating' the spoken news into sign language.

The government also plans to encourage ordinary schools to adopt the language and start integrating deaf students. Currently these students go to special schools for the handicaps.

The new dictionary, prepared by a team in the Ministry of Education and Culture, contains 1,900 words but officials said it would be expanded continuously.

It was constructed around the American Sign Language which was first introduced in Indonesia in 1979 by Mrs. Baron Sutadisastra to replace the lip reading method which was commonly used in many schools.

The new sign language was superior because it adopted the concept of total communication, which also encompassed writing and reading, for more effective communication.

Sign language is now widely used at schools for handicaps in many parts of Indonesia but they each use different standards, mostly following the American system.

Wardiman said the book would allow handicapped people to have the same opportunities to get an education, especially now that the government is aggressively promoting the nine-year compulsory schooling.

"This will help handicapped get an education and broaden their perspectives" he said in the speech which was translated into sign language by Iin Masliah, a teacher from Zinniya school for the handicaps in South Jakarta.

Zinniya and many other similar schools have developed their own sign languages and taught it to teachers, pupils, their relatives and friends to promote communication with the deaf.

Last year, the Directorate General for Basic Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture began the work to produce a standard dictionary.

Director of Basic Education Djauzak Achmad said the first copies of the dictionary would be sent out to libraries and schools for the handicaps all over Indonesia.

Djauzak said the ministry will start encouraging more state schools to open its doors to the deaf and mute.

"The handicap students will be helped by special instructors, and the ministry will train them. Hopefully this year there will be mixed schools in every province," he said. Currently, such mixed schools already exist in certain cities in Java, Jambi, and Lampung.

One of the members of the team that produced the dictionary is deaf, to give the other team members a chance gauge the effectiveness of the new sign language in practice.

Diah Pitaloka graduated from the School of Literature of the University of Indonesia majoring in French literature. He on hand to explain her experience to reporters yesterday.

"I had to ask for a special tutor when I was in school, because I could not follow the course in the language laboratory. To communicate I read lips," Diah said when asked how she managed to study in the university. She graduated from SMA 70 high school in South Jakarta before entering the university.

She said that she cannot speak using sign language but was eager to learn because it could be useful and easier to communicate with other people. (01)