JAKARTA - Member of Commission X of the House of Representatives Habib Syarief encourages sign language to be included in the curriculum after there was an alleged bullying against deaf people with disabilities.
He emphasized that this case was not merely a matter of individual ethics, but reflected structural problems in the education and culture systems that were not yet fully inclusive.
The alleged insult to the deaf was known in a video circulating on social media.
In the video, a man suspected of being a teacher is seen interacting with a person with speech disabilities named Cahyo with communication, gestures, and tone of voice that the public considers degrading the dignity of people with disabilities.
Habib menilai tindakan yang dianggap candaan tersebut menunjukkan rendahnya pemahaman terhadap dunia penyandang disabilitas rungu.
"As educators, sensitivity, empathy, and respect for diversity are basic values that cannot be negotiated," said Habib Syarief, Tuesday, December 23.
Habib Syarief assessed that sign language is a basic right and the main tool for deaf people with disabilities to express themselves, understand information, and participate equally in social life. According to him, the lack of public awareness of sign language creates communication barriers that isolate people with disabilities from public spaces and education.
"Sign language is a complete language system with grammar and meaning. Ignoring it is the same as ignoring the humanity of people with disabilities," he said.
Habib said that millions of Indonesians live with hearing disorders and make sign language as their mother tongue. However, he said, until now the national education system has not been seriously integrating sign language into the general curriculum.
"For this reason, the introduction of sign language in schools is in line with strengthening the quality of learning. In addition to building social empathy, learning sign language can also improve cognitive flexibility, critical thinking skills, and the multisensory intelligence of students," he explained.
The member of the education commission cited several countries such as Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia that have recognized sign language as an official or optional language in schools. "This policy encourages a more inclusive educational environment," he added.
Therefore, Habib encouraged the government together with the DPR to formulate concrete steps, ranging from the development of adaptive curricula, teacher training, provision of teaching materials, to public awareness campaigns.
The PKB legislator also emphasized the need for regulations derived from Law Number 8 of 2016 concerning Persons with Disabilities to mandate the integration of sign language in the national education system.
"As a nation based on Pancasila, we have a moral and constitutional obligation to ensure that no citizen is left behind," he concluded.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
