With more than 250 million Malays living in Indonesia,
Malaysia and Brunei, the three countries share huge human capital to be
mobilized for mutual benefit. Putting political factors aside, they share
the same language and cultures that can be revitalized collectively.
However, it is quality — not quantity — that matters.
Since 1972, the
three countries have been working closely within the framework of Majelis
Bahasa Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia (MABBIM), the language council of Brunei,
Indonesia and Malaysia. While explicitly aimed at cooperation in language
areas, the mission could be expanded beyond it.
While
originating from the same language, the language spoken in the three
countries has undergone its linguistic rights and deserves due respect.
Due to
multilingualism and a huge number of speakers, the Indonesian language has
diverged considerably from the Malay spoken in Malaysia and Brunei.
Dwelling on the
corpus of 518,040 words to look for a similarity index, Sugiyono (2008)
identified 34 percent were shared by Malaysia and Brunei, 28.5 percent were
shared by Indonesia and both Malaysia and Brunei, and only 26.0 percent
were shared by Indonesia and Brunei. Despite the linguistic divergence, the
three languages are still mutually intelligible.
It is estimated
that MABBIM has generated more than 350,000 scientific and technological
terms. Seventy-five percent of terminologies in chemistry, physics and
biology in junior and senior high school textbooks are those generated by
MABBIM, 12 percent of them are spelled differently and only 13 percent are
not MABBIM-generated (Sugono, 2008).
Thus, MABBIM
has undertaken attempts for the development of the language for academic
and sophisticated discourse among the three countries.
Religion is
also another consolidating factor for the peoples of these countries, where
Sunni Muslims dominate. The language and religion are the primordial
foundations for the renaissance of the Malay tamadun (civilization). It is
reminiscent of the 14th and 15th century archipelago, long before western
colonialists came to conquer the region for centuries.
It has been
reiterated by many leaders, including Mahathir Muhammad, that Islam should
be the foundation of the renaissance. He (2002) once strongly warned, “The real problem that we face in a
globalized world is that we reject the brotherhood of Islam. Sadly, while
others are uniting and consolidating their strength, we are fragmenting and
drifting further and further apart”.
Apparently for
him, to unify the Malay within the brotherhood of Islam is the real jihad.
As Muslims hold it, Islam is rahmatan lil alamin, namely, blessings for the
whole universe. MABBIM has laid the language foundation for establishing
the brotherhood beyond language, namely tamadun
(civilization) in general.
The tricky
question is how to develop creativity among the Malays in the region. A
creative culture profile can be constructed from shared values, issues and
questions.
Promoting the
Malay language as a stepping stone for cultural renaissance is to
counter-balance English, spoken not only by 400 million native speakers but
also by the world community.
Cultural
creativity is vital for survival in global competition, mainly in three
domains, namely liberal democracy, the free market and science and
technology, all of which are mediated by English. Thus, creativity should
enable the Malays to survive challenges in these domains. The following are
the major strategies to ponder.
First, within
the Malay renaissance, ethnicity should not be perceived as a negative or
harmful notion. Indigenous languages are an index of natural and cultural
resources, such as fauna, flora, geography and culture in general. The fact
that Indonesia has hundreds of ethnic languages should not be perceived as
a barrier of communication. In fact, those languages have enriched the
vocabulary of modern Indonesians.
Second, the
Malay language should be maintained as the major medium of cultural
revitalization in the region. The recognition by the United Nations
Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) of Feb. 21 as the
world’s mother tongue day is indicative of its importance for sustainable
civilization.
At this
juncture it is relevant to underscore the importance of reinterpreting the
classic works of Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi and Raja Ali Haji, to
mention just a few.
Third, Malay
culture should be a foundation of national development. Cultural
maintenance and protection stem from respect and pride of shared common
cultural values. However, respect and pride are not sufficient. They should
be rationalized to support creativity. History should serve as a guideline
for the future.
Fourth, it is
important to introduce Malay literary works to the world, among others,
through translation. The translation of Indonesian Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s
novels into foreign languages, for example, demonstrates a good example of
making local culture global. Malay-English translations and vice versa
should be done extensively as to promote the Malay civilization on the
international stage. This would be a dialectical process to advocate the
culture.
Fifth, it is
important to introduce the Islamization of knowledge through the Malay
language. For Muslims, the Koran is not only the guidelines for life, but
also the ultimate source of knowledge. What is urgent, though, is the
rationalization. By rationalization is meant concerted scientific efforts
to make sense of what is texted in the Koran through the reinterpretation
of classic works, the Islamic reinterpretation of modern scientific
findings and the publications of research into Islamic civilization.
This
neo-nostalgic approach to cultural revitalization is not a resounding pride
and appreciation of past glories. As a matter of fact, it functions as a
trigger of invigorating commitment, self-consciousness and morality in
facing the challenges. Myths, legends, folklores, aural traditions and
history constitute an object of study that should inspire infinite
creativity.
Apparently,
educators should identify what constitutes great books (karya adiluhung). Such a book
functions as an intellectual bridge across the generations. To this end,
the Malay scholars should have a strong commitment to publishing in Malay
to inculcate young minds that the language has the potential to be a medium
of scientific advancement. A dynamic culture stems from free, individual
thinkers. Eventually, creativity will naturally flourish from the three
countries. ●
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