BANDUNG - Some time ago, a member of the DPR, Arteria Dahlan, received a wave of protests from a number of elements in West Java for asking the attorney general to remove the head of the High Prosecutor's Office who used Sundanese in a meeting at the agency.
His statement was made as a criticism of the attorney general when he attended the Commission III meeting with the Attorney General's Office on Monday, January 17. However, he did not mention the identity of the head of the High Prosecutor's Office in question.
This statement is considered by a number of people, including the Sundanese Customary Council, to be a blasphemy against ethnic groups in Indonesia, not just the Sundanese.
In addition to a number of elements of society, a number of officials from the West Java region, including the Governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil, also regretted this, who assessed that the words of the members of the DPR could hurt the hearts of the Sundanese people.
It did not end there, the DPR member from the PDI-P faction was reported to the West Java Regional Police for alleged violations of the constitution. In addition, he also received a warning from his party, the PDI-P.
In the end, he apologized to the Sundanese people and said he was ready to accept sanctions from the political party where he belongs due to the incident.
"I sincerely apologize to the people of West Java, especially the Sundanese people for my statement some time ago," he said after giving clarification to the PDI-P DPP management as reported by Antara.
From a political point of view, West Java is the top three provinces that contribute votes in all general elections, because of its large population.
The member of the DPR who was born in July 1975 from the constituency of East Java VI had previously strongly debated a national figure, Prof. Dr. Emil Salim, in a talk program on a television station; which has also drawn controversy from the public.
His statement regarding the use of regional languages at an agency meeting at the DPR Commission III meeting is certainly a lesson and a reminder to the people of the country about the importance of preserving Sundanese or other regional languages in general. Regional languages are recognized by the state as national assets that must be maintained and protected by law.
In Article 32 of the 1945 Constitution, the state guarantees the freedom of the people to be able to maintain culture, including the language in it.
Must MaintainLecturer of the Sunda Literature Study Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Padjadjaran University, Dr Elis Sumarlina, said that Sundanese - including other regional languages - is part of the national culture element.
According to him, this is contained and regulated in Article 32 paragraph 2 of the 1945 Constitution and confirmed through regional regulations that apply in every province in Indonesia.
"The Regional Regulation of the Governor of West Java Number 5/2003 and revised in 2014, describes the maintenance of the Regional Language, Literature and Script (Sundanese). In this regard, language as a means of communication must be upheld, as stated in the Youth Pledge," he said, in Bandung, West Java, Saturday.
Regional languages or especially Sundanese can certainly be destroyed if the younger generation is more proud to use foreign languages. However, according to him, this is not possible as long as the pride of the Sundanese language still resides in each of its citizens.
The use of Sundanese, according to him, is not only used as a means of communication between fellow Sundanese. In a broad context, Sundanese has been used in scientific meetings, both at national and international levels, which describe, discuss, and study about Sundanese culture.
Even the late writer Ajip Rosidi in the dissertation presentation forum and the inaugural speech for the honoris causa doctorate at Padjadjaran University in 2011, also used Sundanese.
“So are other Sundanese figures, including Cece Padmadinata. This fact proves that Sundanese is used in scientific forums both nationally and internationally,” said Sumarlina.
Therefore, he said that the use of Sundanese in formal meetings and meetings is common. Because Sundanese also enriches the vocabulary and enriches the Indonesian language.
Language Preservation Strategy
According to him, the awareness to maintain and preserve the regional language or Sundanese in particular, should not wait when its existence is disturbed.
He stated that it was time for activists and education implementers to work together to find solutions and teaching strategies that could be applied at all levels of education and the applicable curriculum. "In order for the purpose of education and teaching to be more optimal, it is necessary to revitalize strategies and qualified teaching methodologies," he said.
According to him, learning strategies are needed so that the Sundanese language teaching process is easier for students to digest. The role of parents is also needed to introduce and teach Sundanese to their children from an early age.
He said, teachers should also take part so that students get used to using the Sundanese language. Even though the language steps are not appropriate, the problem will gradually be solved with the guidance of the teachers.
Local Government EffortsIn Bandung, every Thursday all Bandung City Government agencies, including schools, are required to apply Sundanese culture. The implementation and application of Sundanese culture is contained in article 11 of the Mayor's Regulation Number 063/2019, concerning the third amendment.
The regulation stipulates that traditional clothing is the work uniform in Bandung City Government agencies. The Sundanese-inspired clothes are beskap, pangsi, kebaya, and kebaya karembong.
More specifically, men's beskap and pangsi pants are used, while the kebaya is for women. In addition to appearance, the Bandung City Government also asked its citizens to apply the Sundanese language.
The Acting Mayor of Bandung, Yana Mulyana, said it was an effort to maintain culture, namely the mother tongue. He also said that Sundanese is the mother tongue of the Sundanese. "The use of Sundanese in our region in various activities is natural. It is an effort to maintain our own culture, our mother tongue," he said.
The area that is next door to Bandung, namely Bandung Regency also applies the same thing. However, Bandung Regency has designated Wednesday as a Sundanese language day.
According to him, this also applies to all students in every school from kindergarten to junior high school to use Sundanese in communicating.
He said the policy of using Sundanese every Wednesday would be strengthened by a Regent's Regulation. "This is in order to maintain Sundanese culture. "We already have local content in schools for Sundanese language and culture," said the Regent of Bandung, Dadang Supriatna, on October 13, 2021.
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