THE agreement reached between Malaysia and Indonesia to uplift the status of Bahasa Melayu will increase the chance of making it an ASEAN and international language.

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Board of Governors chairman Dr Awang Sariyan said this was because Bahasa Melayu which has about 300 million speakers, is used in Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Timor Leste.

“Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s proposal is a continuation of efforts that had started for decades at the regional level and Indonesia has been a friend in championing that struggle for almost 50 years.

“The effort to unite Asean countries through language means a lot,” he said in a statement, in Kuala Lumpur today.

Yesterday, Ismail Sabri was reported to have said that efforts are being undertaken to uplift the status of Bahasa Melayu, which may become an Asean language one day.

The prime minister said that the two countries had agreed to use Bahasa Melayu as a language of communication at every international conference.

Awang Sariyan said efforts to make Bahasa Melayu the official language of Asean required strong support from all Malay-speaking countries. – Bernama, April 2, 2022.