Ismail Sabri Wants Southeast Asian Leaders to Speak in Bahasa Melayu at ASEAN Summit in Malaysia Next Year

Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has urged his successor, current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to continue pushing Bahasa Melayu to be made ASEAN’s second language. 

Furthermore, he also hoped that as Malaysia gets the ASEAN chairmanship next year, he hoped that Southeast Asian leaders would speak in Bahasa Melayu during the ASEAN Summit.

Ismail Sabri wants Anwar to continue to push for Bahasa Melayu to be made ASEAN’s second language

Datuk seri ismail sabri yaakob (right)

In case you didn’t know, Ismail had previously touted this proposal in 2022 when he discussed the matter with former Indonesian President Joko Widodo, affectionately known as Jokowi.

Speaking to reporters at the sides of the Majlis Pelancaran Prtubuhan Aspirasi Bahasa Melayu Malaysia in Petaling Jaya yesterday, Utusan quoted the former Prime Minister as saying that while the use of Bahasa Melayu in the region has its differences in terms of pronunciation and dialect, the core remains to be Bahasa Melayu.

Ismail added that he had discussed this with Jokowi during his official meeting with the latter. Moreover, he revealed that Indonesia didn’t object, but certain quarters in the country thought Bahasa Melayu had a lot of variations.

The former Prime Minister thus urged,

“This matter should be rediscussed in ASEAN meetings in the future. I hope Malaysia, as the chairman next year, will play a vital role in continuing this initiative,”

Besides that, Ismail also urged for the use of Bahasa Melayu to be more comprehensive in Malaysia and not only used by the civil service but also at the executive, legislative and judiciary levels.

He further stressed that the mentality of Malaysians must change, especially those who are still using English and are embarrassed to use Bahasa Melayu.

Ismail Sabri wants Southeast Asian leaders to speak in Bahasa Melayu during ASEAN Summit

During the same event, Ismail was also quoted by FMT as saying that making Bahasa Melayu ASEAN’s second language would elevate the language in the region.

Moreover, he hopes that leaders of ASEAN nations will speak in Bahasa Melayu during the ASEAN Summit, even if making it ASEAN’s second language would not be made part of the main agenda.

Ismail said,

“I hope the prime minister will relay this view (to the ASEAN members)… Maybe that could influence other countries (to do the same), like Thailand and Cambodia, where many speak Malay,”

For illustration purposes

So, what do you guys think of Ismail’s comments? Share your thoughts with us in the comments. 

Also read: DBP Director: Malaysia is World’s Weirdest Country, Citizens are Embarrassed to Speak National Language