ID :
26614
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 21:02
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http://m.oananews.org//node/26614
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VP : DIFFICULT NOW TO MAINTAIN ETHNIC LANGUAGES
Solo, Oct 25 (ANTARA) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla opines that it is difficult to maintain ethnic languages in the midst of national plurality at present.
"How can I possibly maintain the Bugis vernacular , my mother tongue, while my wife is from Padang and my four in-laws are all Javanese," the vice president said jokingly.
Kala made the remarks in his address at a South Sulawesi Family (KKSS) family gathering here on Saturday.
He also said three of his Javanese in-laws were even unable to speak Javanese.
According to him, only kindergarten students were currently using an ethnic language at school but soon after they come home from school their grand-mother greets them in Bahasa Indonesia.
The vice president said in the present era, the sense of nationalism was more important than the sense of ethnocentricism. "That's why our identity cards do not mention our ethnicity," he said.
"Children today are confused if they are asked about their ethnicity. If their father who is a Javanese asks the same question, they will say 'We are Javanese' but when their Padangese mother puts the same question to them, they will say 'we are Padangese," Kalla said.
He added that since Indonesia's national slogan was "Unity in Diversity," the people should maintain pluralism in the country.
Meanwhile, Central Java KKSS branch chairman Nur Aziz said there were several groups of people from South Sulawesi in Central Java at present.
He said they were made up of the people who have been in Central Java for a long time, those who came to study or work in Central Java and then return to South Sulawesi, and those who belonged to the members of so-called Archipelagic Family Union.
"Those who belong to the last group are the people from South Sulawesi who have married with other ethnic people and therefore their identity was not clear," Nur Aziz said.
"How can I possibly maintain the Bugis vernacular , my mother tongue, while my wife is from Padang and my four in-laws are all Javanese," the vice president said jokingly.
Kala made the remarks in his address at a South Sulawesi Family (KKSS) family gathering here on Saturday.
He also said three of his Javanese in-laws were even unable to speak Javanese.
According to him, only kindergarten students were currently using an ethnic language at school but soon after they come home from school their grand-mother greets them in Bahasa Indonesia.
The vice president said in the present era, the sense of nationalism was more important than the sense of ethnocentricism. "That's why our identity cards do not mention our ethnicity," he said.
"Children today are confused if they are asked about their ethnicity. If their father who is a Javanese asks the same question, they will say 'We are Javanese' but when their Padangese mother puts the same question to them, they will say 'we are Padangese," Kalla said.
He added that since Indonesia's national slogan was "Unity in Diversity," the people should maintain pluralism in the country.
Meanwhile, Central Java KKSS branch chairman Nur Aziz said there were several groups of people from South Sulawesi in Central Java at present.
He said they were made up of the people who have been in Central Java for a long time, those who came to study or work in Central Java and then return to South Sulawesi, and those who belonged to the members of so-called Archipelagic Family Union.
"Those who belong to the last group are the people from South Sulawesi who have married with other ethnic people and therefore their identity was not clear," Nur Aziz said.
