SBY and the English Language...

It has been a while since I have felt like writing a post about SBY, but not being one to pass up an opportunity to "bang on" about what a fraud the man has turned out to be as president, I figure that this story is as good as any to get started on. The president's spokesperson for international affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, has had to defend the president's use of English in a speech to an Indonesian audience at the Stock Exchange building recently.

There are a few legal issues to be considered here in light of Law No. 24 of 2009 (which you can read about here). However, in a more practical sense the real issue is why does the president need to use English at all in the context of a speech on the economy to an Indonesian audience? Admittedly, there will be the odd loan or borrowed term from English that is similar or even the same in Indonesian. Yet, on the whole, most English words, even some of the loan and borrowed ones, have Indonesian equivalents.

But back to the gist of the story, according to Faizasyah, the president felt the need to use English as a means of clarifying some difficult economic concepts. Now, with all due respect, he is making a speech at the stock exchange and on the whole the majority of those employed there are going to have a whole lot more knowledge of all things economy-related than the president. So, exactly what was he trying to clarify? The idea that the speech was intended for a broader audience is not borne out by those in attendance.

The majority of the speech was in Indonesian and some English words were thrown in. So, to suggest that the words were used to remind people of the foreign roots of the concepts is a furphy at best. At worst it suggests that Indonesia is behind the game when it comes to all things economy-related and therefore the English has to be used. If I was Indonesian, I would probably be offended with the suggestion that I was not as smart as those economists in the West.

Perhaps the real reason that the president uses English in these speeches is that he feels that he is intellectually inferior to his audience and he is trying to mask that intellectual inferiority by pretending to be knowledgeable in the use of the English language.

Or maybe he is angling for a job on the world stage. After all, it was not all that long ago that the Indonesian Democrat Party was suggesting that the president was a serious contender for the job of United Nations Secretary General. So, maybe the use of English is an attempt to convince people that he really is an international statesman.

In any event, there does not appear to be a legitimate or even an arguable, reason for the president to use English in the speech he gave at the Indonesian Stock Exchange.

I wonder if in hindsight Indonesians are beginning to wonder whether SBY was the right choice for a second term as President of the Republic of Indonesia?

Distinctive Voices...

I am currently trying to craft a unit of work for English based on the idea of "Distinctive Voices". The distinctive voices that the students are required to study are prescribed by the New South Wales Board of Studies. However, teachers do have some flexibility in terms of the specific / actual activities that they use to teach the material.

The "I Have A Dream" speech by Martin Luther King is an excellent speech to study. This excellence derives as much from the content of the speech as it does from the structure and techniques that Dr. King uses in conveying that content. I have always enjoyed the images that this speech allows us to create in our own heads (note to self: critical literacy).

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 


It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check – a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilising drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

I attach the speech for your viewing pleasure. Any one with ideas for lesson plans or activities, then feel free to share! I am currently focusing on this little section of the speech below looking at things like alliteration, lists, tone, repetition and anaphora.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. 


I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ 


I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. 


I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 


I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Learning the Lingo -- Indonesian

Language is an important feature of Indonesia and what it means to be Indonesian. So, it is hardly surprising that there is a movement to codify this with a law on language.

The Bill on Language has been in and out of favour for some time as other pieces of legislation deemed either more important or more urgent being considered and enacted in preference to it. Nevertheless, the bill has never totally gone off the radar and a recent workshop on the bill sort to develop a more detailed discourse on the needs for a law on language. The bill specifically regulates the use of Indonesian and other languages.

However, the most interesting issues relate to how the bill mandates the use of Indonesian in all official representations of state and the requirements for all foreigners seeking to work and live in Indonesia to have a standardized level of Indonesian language skills.

The bill in most respects is not all that controversial and even the points of interest noted above are really not controversial in the sense that they are likely to result in deadlock or sink the bill in the consultation and discussion phases. The idea that the Head of State must use Bahasa Indonesia in all formal engagements is likely to resonate with ordinary Indonesians. Furthermore, Indonesian, and in particular proper and correct Indonesian, is a source of pride for Indonesians. Although in a practical sense it is probably important that the Head of State be able to speak English in order to have the option of presenting in English where practical and necessary.

The idea that foreigners must pass an Indonesian competency exam is reasonable and in most cases reciprocal. Indonesians are generally required to speak, read, and write at an acceptable level of English in order to work or study overseas. Therefore, it would seem to make good sense for Indonesia to require the same level of competency in Indonesian for those foreigners wanting to live and work in Indonesia.

It is conceivable that some people will see this bill as a threat to the ease of completing the functions of State and in doing business in Indonesia. However, the bill still has plenty of hard yards to hoe before it reaches the House of Representatives (DPR) and is put into the Committee process leading to a plenary vote.

The bill seems to be making progress however it is currently not a priority. The draft is current as of August 2008.

Provisions
The Bill requires the use of Indonesian in all public and private work environments. Article 11 even requires that all brand names, buildings, advertisements, and company names be in Indonesian.

This is not the first time that measures such as these have been proposed or used. Over the last decade there have been various attempts to compel the use of Indonesian. The most oft cited example of this is the case involving Bakery Holland. Bakery Holland was forced to Indonesianize its corporate name, the solution was simple - Bakeri Hollan, neither of which would seem to be proper and correct Indonesian or for that matter proper and correct words in any language.

Cultural and Ethnic Diversity
The Bill simply acknowledges the cultural and ethnic diversity that is Indonesia but would seem to restrict the use of regional languages to very limited situations. The bill permits the use of foreign languages only in forums that are international in nature and substance. There is a need for a national language. However, there remains a question as to whether this must come at the expense of regional languages and dialects. It must be noted that breaches of the provisions will result in administrative sanctions.

Arguments that the restrictions placed on the use of regional languages do not reflect the spirit of ‘unity in diversity’ seem to ignore the fact that there are no express provisions outlawing the use of regional languages and dialects. To the contrary, regional languages are permitted including how these languages are to be maintained is clear based on Article 27. However, considering the emphasis on ensuring the development of Indonesian for all spheres of use the issue will be one of how the regions will fund and develop the maintenance of their regional languages where there may just well be an overwhelming emphasis on ensuring meeting mandated standards of Indonesian.

Nevertheless, proponents of the bill note that the idea of Indonesia having a national language is something that is mandated not only in the Constitution but from a much earlier time, specifically the 1928 Youth Pledge.

Foreigners
The Bill requires all foreigners working in Indonesia to be proficient in the Indonesian language. In principle this is not an ill-conceived demand, the question is the workability of the proposal and the uniform standards that it will require to be put into place. From a business and investment perspective, all future labor and human resources hiring decisions as they relate to foreign staff will require that the prospective expatriate staff meet the required levels of proficiency.

For example, before a language school could hire an expatriate native speaker language teacher that teacher must first be proficient in Indonesian before they could be offered the position. It is accepted that communication between the expatriate and the local staff would be greatly enhanced if the expatriate knew Indonesian however the knowledge of Indonesian is not critical to the ability of the expatriate to perform their employment functions.

That said, it is important that there is a legal requirement for the transfer of knowledge from the expatriate to the Indonesian counterpart. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that this transfer of knowledge would be greatly enhanced if the expatriate could impart that knowledge in both Indonesian and the foreign language. The Labor Law and the implementing regulations envisage expatriate staff provided expertise, imparting that knowledge to local staff, and then having that local staff take over the role of the expatriate.

Indonesian Proficiency Tests
Foreigners
The Bill mandates that all expatriate employees and foreign students will have to have the requisite knowledge of Indonesian before being permitted to work or study in Indonesia. This will require them to sit and pass the Indonesian Proficiency Test (Ujian Kemampuan Bahasa Indonesia / UKBI) however what score they might have to achieve to 'pass' has not yet been set.

It remains unclear whether the test will be required for expatriate residents of Indonesian who are not working and studying, particularly for the ever-expanding group of expatriates retiring to the warmer climes and quieter surrounds of Bali among other Indonesian locales.

Indonesians
Just so that expatriates do not think they are being unfairly singled out for language proficiency tests, all Indonesian public officials and State employees will have to possess the requisite knowledge levels of proper and correct Indonesian - this may seem easy enough - but anyone watching local news bulletins with interviews with public officials will note that perhaps this is going to be a challenge for some Indonesians as well.

Official Representations
The Bill stipulates that for Indonesians that all speeches in written or oral form presented in Indonesia or abroad in an official capacity must be done in proper and correct Indonesian. The effect, the President in any speech that he makes whether it be, opening an international conference in Indonesia or making a speech addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations, these speeches must be in Indonesian.

As noted earlier international conferences in Indonesia may use a foreign language as the lingua franca yet it remains unclear whether an Indonesian official opening the conference would be permitted to use the foreign language to open the conference, particularly in light of Article 13.

On face value this seems an excessive requirement. This requirement might be directly linked to the controversy over a former Miss Indonesia's participation in an international pageant where she referred to Indonesia as being “a beautiful city”, an honest mistake or otherwise; even native speakers can make mistakes in their own language. Or it might simply be that Indonesian is a source of national pride and as such must be used at every possible opportunity.

Sanctions
The sanctions for breach of the provisions include written and verbal warnings, administrative fines, withholding and cancellation of permits, and the suspension of services until compliance is achieved. The impacts are obvious in regard to investment and foreigners. Nevertheless, one of the other aims of the Bill is to redress many Indonesian problems, such as a weakening of national pride and patriotism, which are considered to result in the deterioration in the use of proper Indonesian.

Enforcement
Yet, it would seem that the practicalities of regulating language use in the private and public spheres is only going to increase the red tape and bureaucracy in an already overburdened, over-bureaucratic State apparatus, which lead to claims at the recent seminar on the Bill that it was nothing more than a paper tiger or an unloaded gun.

Nevertheless, it must also be considered, although not explicitly stated, that Article 19 of the Bill would imply that the Government has an obligation to enforce the provisions and consequently to ensure compliance.

Publishing
Finally, the use of Indonesian is compulsory in the writing and publication of scientific papers and articles in the mass media, and films. Taking this to the logical extreme the inference is that all non-Indonesian language material must be translated or dubbed into Indonesian for local publication and dissemination.

The issue here is not the intent but rather the enforceability of such provisions. Presumably the Indonesian language requirement does not apply to Indonesian scientists and academics intending to publish material about Indonesia in foreign publications, once again this is an enforceability issue. Another example would be subscription based television programming; do the provisions entail that all programming content, free-to-air and subscription based, have to be in Indonesian.

Services Provided in Languages Other Than Indonesian
Another interesting question that the Bill or subsequent Government Regulations will need to address, perhaps in the Elucidation to the law, is the status of Indonesian produced English language news services – will they be required to include subtitles?

Conclusion

In conclusion, the intent of the Bill is a valid one, the promotion and development of the National Language. However, the codification of this intent is problematic and this piece has highlighted but a few of these, of particular concern is the enforcement of the provisions.

This increased bureaucracy and the ever-expanding intrusion of Government into the private corporate and private spheres is perhaps an issue of concern. This is particularly the case where the respective post-Soeharto Governments of B.J. Habibe, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati, and currently Susilo Bambang Yudhyono have sort to distance themselves from the authoritarian nature of the past through the promotion and emphasis on good corporate governance and the human rights and dignity of individuals to be free from excessive intrusion by the Government - the emphasis here is on smaller, more efficient government rather than an unending expansion of the big government of the past.

Boring is as boring does!

The past week has seen the President get a little hot under the collar and admonish some poor regional official for dozing off during the President's speech.

I have gotta be honest here that I have not read or heard the speech, but maybe it was not worth being awake for? And the question then is who should take the blame for a boring speech that sends people to la la land?

Maybe this person was so tired from working hard in supporting and lobbying for his constituents (remembering that a meeting of this nature would be a prime opportunity for this) that a little shut eye could not be avoided…then again maybe they had a big night out the night before in some karaoke joint until 4 or 5 in the morning!

Maybe being obviously asleep is better than having a captain with their eyes wide open but figuratively asleep at the wheel!

It seems that a couple of Indonesians have come out in support of the sleeper by suggesting that the President's speeches are not all that they are said to be and in fact Effendi Gozali, a political communication expert at the University of Indonesia, said this; "He should hire a consultant to provide him with fresh jokes so it is fun to listen to his speech. I think most leaders have done this." Then Indra J. Pilliang of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) chimed in and suggested that this occurred because Yudhoyono's speech was "boring, normative and preaching".

Ouch!

Might be worth checking out the DPR building every now and then and see how full or empty (depending on whether you are “the glass is half full” or “the glass is half empty” type)…This individual might have been asleep at a workshop and perhaps on the job but there are quite a few politicians not on the job at all!

Not a uniquely Indonesian issue as it was not so long ago that the former Australian Foreign Minister and now opposition back bencher, Alexander Downer, decided a long lunch and a game of golf were better options than hanging around in the chamber for boring to and fro on the political front!

It is pretty sad that this is headline news in a country where there are probably a whole range of more worthy subject matter for headlines in Jakarta’s English Language Newspaper! Although a childish outburst by the President is probably newsworthy in the sense that the President might be showing his true colours, but all the same there are more pressing issues that need discussing!