Strong cultural heritage binds Indonesia and Malaysia

Strong cultural heritage binds Indonesia and Malaysia

By Zainal Arifin

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): In the Malay archipelago lie two nations
that, despite contemporary divergence, share deep cultural
heritage. Their consanguineous existence transcends geographical
separation, internal rifts, and reels of European interventions.

From the Majapahit Empire in the 13th to 16th centuries and
the origins of the sultanate of Malacca during the Malay dynasty
of the same period, traces of shared origins between Malaysia and
Indonesia permeate. The decline of the Majapahit empire and the
fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in the early 16th century
spelled the beginning of the social division between Indonesia
and the Malay Peninsula.

From then on, the division has only got larger. Contemporarily
divided and shaped by experiences from different European
colonial rulers, the shared heritage that binds Indonesia and
Malaysia still runs deep. Amid the stark differences in present-
day political ideologies and demographic patterns and a few
rifts, the historical and cultural heritage rooted in the Malay
language, Malay ethnicity, Islam, and traditions to a certain
great extent remains parallel in both nations.

Current divergence between Indonesia and Malaysia in
sociopolitical and socioeconomic paths however often overshadow
the similitude in the two Southeast Asian countries. Contemporary
history reveals that the present divergence was preceded by an
initial interdependence of the two nations. The intimacy between
the two nations is indeed marked by interdependence.

Indonesia's earlier independence in 1945 gave it a head start
in many development efforts. Twelve years later, its young
neighbor, just emerging from colonial Malaya, turned to Indonesia
for assistance in many of its development efforts, particularly
in the area of education.

In 1959, in view of the growing importance of the Malay
language which would be the language of instruction in schools
and later in higher learning institutions, the Malayan
authorities realized the urgent need for the Malay language to be
recognized and accepted as a national language.

The authorities sought the expertise of Indonesian scholars
and linguists, whose linguistics development efforts had already
raised Bahasa Indonesia to a different level to that of Bahasa
Melayu. As a result Malaysia-Indonesia cooperation was initiated
by the language program known as Penyamaan Ejaan, which had the
central objective of standardize the spelling system of Bahasa
Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu.

The Penyamaan Ejaan program would later open up a wider
circulation for Malaysian Malay publication in Indonesia,
although this was able to take place only in the 1980s, almost
over two decades after the first delegation to Indonesia on
Penyamaan Ejaan in 1959. Hence not only did the program uplift
Bahasa Melayu, it also later widened the readership of Malay
publication from Malaysia.

In early independence, Malaya was confronted with insufficient
literary works in Bahasa Melayu that could help signify and
justify the preparedness of the language to function as a
national language. Indonesian publications, which by then had
already boasted literary works of such writers as Hamka and Sutan
Takdir Alisjahbana, was referred to and circulated widely in
Malaya. It was also for the superior language and literary
development in Indonesia that in the early stages, many
Malaysians were encouraged to take up Malay literature studies or
Persuratan in Indonesia.

In fact, the influence of Indonesian literature on the
peninsula Malay society has a far-reaching effect, although this
effect has largely remained obscured. Indonesian newspapers,
journals and magazines which were then in abundance in Malaya
inspired the Malays. Through this, the seeds of Malay nationalism
were sown and culminated into the anti-colonialism movement.

Another significant assistance offered by the then more
sophisticated Indonesian education programs in the early 1960s
was for the establishment of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM) in 1971. Bahasa Malaysia was promulgated as the language of
instruction in higher education institutions beginning with UKM.

Indonesia had at that time a pool of manpower with
qualifications at the master's and doctorate levels, which
Malaysia then lacked, to implement the establishment of UKM. Many
faculties at UKM then relied on the manpower brought in from
Indonesia. The medical faculty in particular had a large number
of teaching staff from Indonesia. This was especially crucial as
Bahasa Indonesia then had already been established with medical
and scientific terminology.

During this same period, a number of students from Malaya
began to pursue education in sciences and medicine in Indonesian
universities. This persists until today albeit in a smaller
number. Islamic education in Malaysia also benefited from the
Indonesian initial superiority in its education system. Many
scholars received Islamic studies qualifications from Indonesian
universities. A number of Malaysian scholars pursuing degrees in
Islamic studies in Indonesia continues. So does the number of
Malaysian scholars studying in top Indonesian universities in
arts and social sciences.

Today, Indonesia and Malaysia still cooperate in all kinds of
ventures. However, current cooperation, in education at
least, evokes an irony. If previous educational cooperation was
marked by Malaysia's recipient role and Indonesia as the
provider, the present situation, in many cases, is the reverse.

There are now far more Indonesian students studying in
Malaysian local public and private higher education institutions
then there are Malaysians in Indonesian universities. While there
are approximately 2,000 Malaysians studying degree courses in
Indonesia, there are about 6,000 Indonesian students studying in
Malaysian higher education institutions. Of the 6,000 students,
5,000 students are enrolled in Malaysian private colleges
pursuing first degree courses in economics, hotel and catering,
design and graphics, and computer or multimedia. Those in
Malaysian public universities are mostly enrolled in post-
graduate programs. At a higher level, through the Penataran Ilmu
program, lecturers from Indonesian universities go through a
skill upgrading program in Malaysian educational institutions.

In post and early independent eras, the Malayan government
sought Indonesian expertise to develop many of its educational
programs. Now Malaysia and Indonesia are partners in many
educational programs. Malaysian universities and Indonesian
universities now jointly offer transfer-of-credit programs
allowing students from either country to study in both countries
for a degree.

For the development of Bahasa Malaysia for education, Malaysia
now partners with Indonesia and Brunei in developing the language
for various emerging new areas. It is apparent that there exists
a role reversal in the relationship. Indonesia has shifted its
role from that of a "tutor", at least in the area of education,
to that of a partner turning to Malaysia to learn in some
respects. A similar trend pervades in other areas that are beyond
the scope of this article.

The role reversal in the relationship of the two nations has
gradually unfolded over a span of nearly six decades. This
phenomenon is symbolic of the speed with which Malaysia has
progressed with respect to its neighbor. The present situation
can be again reversed, of course. Time informs. There is a lesson
to be drawn. Malaysia must not be nonchalant to deny even a
shadow of relegation. Indonesia is not complacent with its
present situation, undoubtedly, and is working to progress. This
spirit leads to healthy competition.

Alongside this competition, intensified co-operation between
the two countries should be considered. This may ensure the
leaders of future generations in the two countries remain
appreciative of the shared cultural heritage and the
consanguinity. With enlightened leaders from the two countries
united, the two nations can, once again, bring out the formidable
force of the Malay Archipelago, like that of the once much envied
Majapahit Empire and the Sultanate of Malacca.

The writer is the education and cultural attache at the
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur.