Young people speak their minds about relevance of Indonesia

Young people speak their minds about relevance of Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Is Bahasa Indonesia still relevant as a unifier of the
Indonesian people? In conjunction with the commemoration of Youth
Pledge Day on Sunday, we posed this question to young people from
across the country.

Idy Muzayyad, 24, a student at the Sunan Kalijaga State
Institue of Islamic Studies' School of Shariah (Islamic law) in
Magelang:

Bahasa Indonesia has yet to play its role as a medium to unite
the Indonesian people. It's true that it has been used as a means
of communication in Indonesia for a long time, but it has not
prevented Indonesians from different backgrounds from fighting
and killing each other. Sharing the same language has not meant a
united society.

Bahasa Indonesia is not a symbol of nationalism anymore. The
spirit of the Youth Pledge has been unable to unite Indonesians.
There are so many things that should be done to reach the goal of
the pledge. It's about how the government manages the diversity
of the country, including its languages.

Martin Umbo Kombu, 19, a sophomore at a State Technical High
School in Jayapura, Irian Jaya:

I think Bahasa Indonesia is still a medium for uniting people.
But it would really unite people if we could include more local
languages in it. It's not fair if Bahasa Indonesia is dominated
by a certain region. It is important for people in Irian Jaya to
be able to take pride in having their local language understood
by people from other regions.

Damianus Siyok, 22, a student at Tanjungpura University in
Pontianak:

Bahasa Indonesia can still unite the Indonesian people because
this country is very diverse, and there are so many local
languages. Therefore, we need to find a language that can be
understood by everyone. In this context, Bahasa Indonesia is a
way to unite people.

Mariyam Suciati, 24, an employee at a private company in
Bandung:

I think the idea of Bahasa Indonesia as an instrument to unite
people is very old fashioned and no longer relevant. Even the
Youth Pledge itself is out of date. I don't know how, but we have
to find another way to unite the people in our country.