Member Of Commission X DPR Asks Campus To Prioritize Indonesian Language In The Aftermath Of Deputy DPR Walk Out In The Inauguration Of The UPI Chancellor

JAKARTA - Member of Commission X DPR Ledia Hanifa Amaliah appealed to universities and the academic community to emulate national values by prioritizing Indonesian as a language of unity.

This was said by Ledia regarding the action of the leadership of the DPR to leave or 'walk out' from the inauguration ceremony of the Chancellor of the Indonesian University of Education (UPI) Prof. Didi Sukyadi for using English.

"As an educational institution, campuses should be role models in implementing national values in the use of Indonesian," said Ledia Hanifa, Wednesday, June 18.

According to Ledia, public officials including the chancellor are required to speak Indonesian at official events. "In short, my knowledge is that public officials are required to use Indonesian at formal events," he said.

The rules are explicitly regulated in Article 31 of Law Number 24 of 2009 concerning the Flag, Language, and State Emblem, as well as the National Anthem. This regulation requires the use of Indonesian in official state forums, including the inauguration of public officials in higher education.

"We hope that the rules contained in this law are obeyed by every element of the nation so as not to injure the symbols of state sovereignty," said Ledia.

As previously reported, the moment of the inauguration of the UPI Chancellor, Prof. On the sidelines of Sukyadi a few days ago was in the public spotlight because the procession of taking the oath of office was carried out in English. Even the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Cucun Ahmad Syamsurijal, who was present, chose to leave the event or walk out (WO) as a form of protest.

Cucun assessed that the oath of office procession was a violation of Law Number 24 of 2009. Ledia also agreed with Cucun that the campus should be at the forefront of maintaining Indonesian language in academic and institutional spaces.

"Of course this incident should be a lesson for all parties, especially educational institutions such as campuses and for the academic community," he said.

Ledia assessed that the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) needed to take corrective steps and evaluate this incident.

"It can be through a letter of appeal or sustainable coaching," added Ledia.

Ledia admits that in academic contexts such as international journals, seminars, or collaborations in cross-border research, the use of foreign languages is inevitable. But he considered, making foreign languages the main language in institutional processions such as the inauguration of campus officials is a less proportional step.

"English is important in the midst of the globalization era, but don't forget in formal activities, Indonesian must remain the main thing. Moreover, events are held domestically," said the member of the commission in charge of DPR education.

Ledia also said that Indonesian has been recognized as one of the official languages at the UNESCO General Conference. Therefore, he reminded all parties to be proud to speak Indonesian at all times of the event.

Ledia hopes that the 'walk out' incident of the leadership of the DPR will serve as a reminder for universities and all academic community to strengthen awareness in Indonesian.

"Hopefully this incident will not happen again in the future, and in particular I hope that the world of education can become a promoter in cultivating Indonesian languages in official forums," he concluded.