KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will discuss with regional leaders to make Bahasa Melayu or Malay as the second language of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Wednesday (Mar 23).
He was responding to questions in the Upper House on the efforts to elevate Malaysia’s national language at the international level.
Mr Ismail Sabri said apart from Malaysia, the Malay language is already used in several ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Philippines and parts of Cambodia.
He said during his visit to Cambodia recently, he was informed there were 800,000 Malay-Chams who used Malay and in Vietnam, there were some 160,000 Malay speakers among those of Malay-Cham ancestry.
There is also a small population of Malay speakers in Laos, he added.
“Hence in the whole of ASEAN there are people who can speak Malay. Therefore there is no reason why we cannot make Malay as one of the official languages of ASEAN,” Mr Ismail Sabri said.
The prime minister added that he would discuss the matter with his ASEAN counterparts.
“I will discuss with the other leaders of ASEAN countries, especially those in countries that already use Malay. I will discuss with them on making Malay as the second language in ASEAN. After that, we will discuss with other leaders of ASEAN countries that have populations who speak Malay,” said Mr Ismail Sabri.
The prime minister was responding to a member of the Senate, Isa Ab Hamid who wanted to know about the government’s efforts to empower Malay language in Malaysia’s diplomatic and foreign relations.
“At this time, only four out of 10 ASEAN countries use English in official events at the international level. Whereas six other countries use their mother tongues for official matters which require translation,” he told the Senate.
