The three-day symposium, which was organised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) upon the Prime Minister's suggestion, would discuss the use of Malay as one of the official languages in Asean. “We wish to elevate Bahasa Melayu, which has other variations,” he explained in a press conference after officiating the International Symposium on Bahasa Melayu. “Some did not understand, they thought that we want to elevate Bahasa Malaysia as the Asean language, some of our friends from neighbouring countries criticised us but maybe because they have misunderstood. “We use Bahasa Melayu as the primary language, it has its variations, we have Bahasa Melayu Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu Brunei, Bahasa Melayu Singapore, Bahasa Melayu Thailand.ĪLSO READ: Indonesian minister rejects proposal for BM as second official language for Asean
PETALING JAYA: The International Symposium on Bahasa Melayu is the best platform to identify whatever obstacles in dignifying the Malay language thus making it one of the official languages of Asean, says the Prime Minister.ĭatuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob also took the opportunity to clarify that it is not 'Bahasa Malaysia' that Malaysia wishes to promote as the language of Asean, but 'Bahasa Melayu' (Malay language), which was also used in other countries in Asean.
