By Mohd Nasir Yusoff
KUTA (Bali), Sept 5 (Bernama) — The administrators of Bali have vowed to continue welcoming Malaysians to the island resort despite reports of anti-Malaysia sentiments in some other parts of Indonesia.
The governor of Bali, Dewa Beratha, said Malaysia, which contributes the largest number of visitors to the island among Asean countries, remained a friend of Bali.
Besides tourism, an increasing number of Malaysian parents were sending their children to pursue medicine at Udhayana University, he said at a gathering to mark Malaysia’s 50th Independence Day and commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Indonesia here today.
The governor was represented by MP Sihombing, a high-ranking government officer on the island.
Despite threats of protests, the event at the Alam Kulkul Resort, which also houses the office of Malaysian Consul-General Feisol Hashim, went on smoothly.
Present were Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Zainal Abidin Mohamed Zain, Feisol as well as senior government, military and police officials of Bali.
Feisol said the fact that the demonstration did not materialise showed that the people of Bali were not easily influenced by anti-Malaysia issues highlighted by people with vested interests.
Kuta village chief, Dr I Gede Wijaya, told Bernama that local authorities always strived to ensure security for tourists, including those from Malaysia.
Meanwhile, student Alan Abdul Rahman confirmed that he and other Malaysian students had never been intimidated by any resident of Bali following claims that an Indonesian karate umpire had been assaulted in Malaysia.
Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/
September 7th, 2007
Udayana University academics say electronic media should help preserve proper language use rather than promote the spread of slang
The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
By Prodita Sabarini
Linguists in Bali have called on the mass media to use proper Indonesian to prevent the further spread of bahasa gaul, or slang, across the archipelago.
In a discussion Thursday organized by the Bali Mass Media Language Forum (FMMB), linguists from the Denpasar-based Udayana University said the media should play a more active role in preserving the Indonesian language.
According to the linguists, Indonesia is facing a “crisis of youth” in which the use of the Indonesian language could be altered.
“Our youth now mostly speak in bahasa gaul,” linguist I Wayan Pastika said.
He said bahasa gaul is a pidgin language made up of a mixture of Jakarta Malay and the Indonesian language.
A surge in the number of private television stations since 2000 has contributed to the spread of informal language use in the country.
There are currently 10 private television stations broadcasting in Indonesia, as well as public station TVRI. With the exception of TVRI and news channel Metro TV, the target audience of each television station is essentially the same.
“Infotainments that screen interviews with celebrities facilitate the spread of bahasa gaul,” Pastika said.
“Bahasa gaul is appropriate if used in informal situations, but because these programs are screened in front of a large audience, a more appropriate variation of Indonesian should be used so everyone can understand,” he said.
Indonesia is home to a diverse group of cultures, with more than 500 different ethic languages spoken across the archipelago.
The linguists blamed the electronic media, especially television and radio broadcasters, for promoting the use of the pidgin language.
Pastika said the print media continues to promote the proper use of the Indonesian language, although sometimes mistakes are still made.
Radio announcers, characters in movies and teen sinetron (local soap opera) stars frequently speak in bahasa gaul.
Over the last five years, the Indonesian film industry has made a come back. The Jakarta-based industry often uses the language spoken by teens in the capital, facilitating the rapid spread of Jakartan slang to other cities in Indonesia.
“There is a possibility the Indonesian language will be undermined by Jakarta Malay,” Pastika said.
Linguist Dana Wati said it was unfortunate the average Indonesian lacked insight into the importance of preserving the country’s national language.
“In Malaysia and Singapore, people who can speak Indonesian highly respect the language. However, Indonesians themselves don’t care about it,” she said.
She said a lot of foreigners attempt to learn the Indonesian language, but become lost in the slang Indonesians use in daily conversation.
“They don’t understand what people are saying and can’t follow conversations because too much bahasa gaul is used,” she said.
Linguistics student Eva Trisna said she was often confused by informal terms used in daily conversations.
Eva said the Center of Languages should become a guardian for the Indonesian language.
“The center should publish guidelines regarding the proper use of the language and distribute them to the media,” she said.
She also said columns on proper language use should appear in the print media.
“The success of a word is the success of the media,” she said.
Date Posted: 9/4/2007
Source: http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/
September 7th, 2007