A New National Language

Te Ao Hou, March 1965, Page 53

A New National Language One of their first tasks was to choose a national language. This is Bahasa Indonesia, which is now used by the government and taught in all schools. Formerly the folk from different ethnic groups could communicate with each other either with difficulty or not at all, but today they can do this. Thus Bahasa Indonesia has been a means of knitting the peoples of the Republic together. Bahasa Indonesia is a fairly ‘new’ language, and is still growing. Consequently there are some who find that it is inadequate to express their deepest feelings and thoughts. I was takling to a gentleman who said, ‘While we understand and speak Bahasa Indonesia, we like to use Sunda too. Sunda speaks to our heart, and is sweet to our ear’. His statement reminded me of comments often heard from our own kaumatua regarding the Maori language. In Central Java I visited two ancient temples. One (Borobudur) is a Buddhist temple, and the other (Prambanan) is dedicated to the Hindu god Cewa. Both temples are colossal stone structures, intricately carved. And both temples were erected between 700-900 A.D., which is a very long time ago. Other ethnic groups have an equally long history behind them, so it is not surprising that there should be rivalries between them. Despite the differences, President Sukarno has welded the people of Indonesia into a nation, and he has done so with the minimum use of force.