MIDTERM EXAM IR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

BOBBY HIZKIA
CLASS A / 2014330037
0019
Rocky Path toward an Integrated Community:
The Problem(s) of ASEAN Language Proposal

Introduction
In promoting connectivity within Southeast Asia region, one of the determinant factors is
communication between people across borders. When speaking about communication, one could not
diminish the discussion of language, considering that language plays vital role as the medium of
communication. Therefore, despite the fact of its main function in communication, language could also
become communication barrier when one fails to understand others language. Language will also play
role in the process of ASEAN integration. People with same language have tendency to be united
because it helps promoting sense of belonging among them. I argue that language aspect is one of the
barriers towards ASEANs integration.
Although consists of ten Southeast Asian states, the language policy of ASEAN doesnt reflect
the local cultures and traditions of the region. Instead, it adopts a language from which Huntingtons
called as Western civilization: English language. Formed in 1997 with the basis of Bangkok Declaration,
ASEAN does not mention languages at all on its official establishment document. Until the introduction
of ASEAN Charter in 2007, English has always been the official and working language of the organization
without any legal and formal basis.1 However, the policy of English as lingua franca of ASEAN is
formalized since the Charter is adopted in December 2008, which in the article 34, stated that:
The working language of ASEAN shall be English.2

In his 2010s writing, Kirkpatrick argued that although Article 2 of the Charter lists, as one of its
principles, respect for the different languages of the peoples of ASEAN there is no mention of a
regional language or language education policy through which this respect for the different languages
might be realized.3 By this, it means English would most likely be used as the universal ASEAN
1

Andy Kirkpatrick, English as the official working language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN): Features and strategies, English Today 94, Vol. 24, No. 2 (June 2008), page 27, accessed March 9, 2016,
downloaded from http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/10072/41911/1/73966_1.pdf.
2
The ASEAN Charter, Article 34 Working Language of ASEAN, ASEAN Secretariat, January 2008, page 29.
3
Kirkpatrick, English as the official working language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):
Features and strategies, page 27.

MIDTERM EXAM IR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

BOBBY HIZKIA
CLASS A / 2014330037
0019
language and this will affect the journey of ASEAN Community. However, I identify some of the
problems regarding English within the context of ASEANs language policy related to the connectivity of
ASEAN people. First, that majority of people do not have ability to speak English, the policy will not work
well. How come English could be the official language when people seem still do not understand it?
Second, there would be a gap between the countries that speak English and countries that do not.
Certain countries in ASEAN that speak English fluently will be disproportionately advantaged by ASEAN
Economic Community policy of free flow of labor.4 If so, further economic disparities will likely occur
between ASEAN members and their citizens.5 Third, in line with Kirkpatricks argument, the local
languages of Southeast Asians would be in the threat of extinction. If one day English is already
formalized within ASEAN (without further policy of conserving local languages), the people would mostly
speak English and there would be probability of people leaving their actual mother tongue. By this, it
means that Southeast Asia would have lesser unique diversity.
Then, what is the solution of those problems? The idea of inventing ASEAN language sounds
good. Is it? Throughout this essay, I will point some of my arguments limited to why it is impossible (or
at least very difficult) to introduce so-called ASEAN language. I will focus on the diversity and
heterogeneity of societies within ASEAN and the uneven distribution of education as another factor of
complex language problem in ASEAN. Eventually, this language problem will directly affect ASEAN,
specifically hampering its efforts toward integration.

The Proposal of ASEAN Language

Recently, due to the problems of English as stated above, there has been a discussion of
introducing ASEAN language. Many (especially Indonesian) suggest that Bahasa Indonesia should be the
unifying language of ASEAN. Suhartono, a language expert from Universitas Negeri Surabaya, argue that
Bahasa Indonesia had been studied in many countries, easy to master, rapidly developing, and most
words in Bahasa Indonesia also exists in other ASEAN languages.6 Other argue that it is because of

Oliver S. Crocco and Nattiya Bunwirat, English in ASEAN: Key Effects, International Journal of the Computer,
the Internet and Management Vol.22 No.2 (May-August, 2014) pp. 22-27, accessed March 11, 2016, downloaded
from www.ijcim.th.org/past_editions/2014V22N2/5Page_22-27.pdf.
5
Ibid.
6
Expert Supports Bahasa Indonesia to be Language of ASEAN, TEMPO, January 8, 2016, accessed March 11,
2016, downloaded from http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/01/08/055734251/Expert-Supports-BahasaIndonesia-to-be-Language-of-ASEAN.

MIDTERM EXAM IR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

BOBBY HIZKIA
CLASS A / 2014330037
0019
Indonesia is the most populous country in ASEAN, with the population of more than 200 million.7
However, I argue that the proposal of ASEAN language, whatever it is that comes from one of the
member states, is a no: it would not likely happen for several years forward.
First, we should consider the fact of multilingualism among ASEAN members. The region is
basically a very multilingual area, consists of twelve states (including Papua New Guinea and East Timor)
with major spoken languages come from five different language families: Sino-Tibetan (Thai, Lao,
Burmese, Chinese), Austronesian (Malay, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Ilocano, Cham), Austro-Asiatic
(Mon-Khmer, Vietnamese), Papuan (Timor), and Indo-European (English).8 ASEAN people speak different
languages, and even within a country, there are various languages that come from different language
families! For example, Laotians that speak Lao might not understand other Laotians who speak MonKhmer who live in the mountainous region. ASEAN people might have difficulties in accepting the new
creation of ASEAN language. The acceptance in this context does not underpin the willingness aspect of
the people, but more about the adaptiveness of the people to the language. Compared to ASEAN,
European Union would likely succeed when it comes to promote inter-understanding and adaptiveness
between the languages, considering the fact that there are many similarities among Indo-European
languages, for example between Portuguese and Spanish, French and Italian, Dutch and Swedish, and so
on.9 Naturally, the locals of ASEAN lack of shared-words between their languages.
Second, we should consider the has-not-been-ending-experience of ASEAN in promoting
English. Spreading English throughout the whole region is a big unfinished homework for ASEAN. English
is indeed one of major languages spoken in Southeast Asia, however, only four out of ten ASEAN
member states use it as their common language, which are Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and the
Philippines. They share same historical detail in terms of the mother tongue of their conquerors, with
the fact that Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei were British colonies and the Philippines once ruled by
USA. Myanmar is the exception (although once was a British colony), considering that its policy of
isolation has made English less spoken in daily life. The other five countries do not have English as their
7

Dwi Murdaningsih, Ini Alasan Bahasa Indonesia Layak Jadi Pengantar di ASEAN, Republika, January 25, 2016,
accessed
March
11,
2016,
downloaded
from
http://www.republika.co.id/berita/pendidikan/eduaction/16/01/25/o1i0if368-ini-alasan-bahasa-indonesia-layakjadi-pengantar-di-asean.
8
John Hartmann, Outline: Spoken and Written Languages of Southeast Asia, Crossroads, accessed March 11,
2016, downloaded from http://www.seasite.niu.edu/crossroads/hartmann/hartmann.htm.
9
Nicole Stansley, How Similar (and Different) Are European Languages, Omniglot, accessed March 11, 2016,
downloaded from http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/europeanlanguagecomparison.htm.

MIDTERM EXAM IR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

BOBBY HIZKIA
CLASS A / 2014330037
0019
common language. Countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam have only their elites and some educated
people speak English, while Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand are considered having low levels of
English. So, approximately its less than half of Southeast Asians that could speak English fluently.
Therefore, it is crystal clear that while English struggles to be accepted by Southeast Asias locals, Bahasa
Indonesia or other Southeast Asian languages the less-universalistic language in nature would likely
not be accepted by most of ASEAN people.
Third, it is related to the technical matter. Seeing the uneven distribution of basic education, or
uneven distribution of English education in many ASEAN countries, it seems that the proposal of ASEAN
language would just create another uneven distribution. There are still a lot of basic education problems
and English which could be said as a universal language is still uncommon for many students in
some of ASEAN countries. There are tons of English teachers and courses, but many people still
unfamiliar with it. How about new ASEAN language (chosen from one of ASEAN countries) that really
have distinct and uncommon characteristics? Besides, the new ASEAN language would lack of teachers
and experts to spread the language. It is also worth to note that the curriculum of the new language has
not been designed yet. Plus, some regions also remain undeveloped, which means, not an easy task to
reach them. It will take a very long time to have ASEAN language to be spread throughout the region.
Different with the first point, the last point is related with the willingness of ASEAN people to
accept the language. I do not think that with the exception of Indonesia the member states of ASEAN
would agree to adopt, lets say, Bahasa Indonesia as ASEAN language. It is derived from Malay, which
Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, the Southern part of Philippines, and the Southern part of Thailand, more
closely related with Malay than Bahasa Indonesia. It is logical for other members, especially Malaysia, to
not accept Bahasa Indonesia, instead it would point out that it is more reasonable for Malay to become
ASEAN language. The other members would also not agree with the discourse of the other language to
become ASEAN language outside theirs. The lack of cohesiveness between ASEAN members could be
the barrier of choosing one of the languages to be ASEAN language, as the members still have their own
pride.

Conclusion and Recommendation

From the explanations above, I conclude that as for now, ASEAN could not create the new
ASEAN language. First of all, the multilingualism of ASEAN could make the people having a long time to

MIDTERM EXAM IR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

BOBBY HIZKIA
CLASS A / 2014330037
0019
adapt with new language. Second, while people are still struggling with English, it will only become
another burden if ASEAN language comes to force. Third, the uneven distribution of education within
ASEAN shows that the process of spreading new language would be a difficult job. And the last, the
pride and identity of each ASEAN members would keep them not to accept the other language outside
theirs.
Therefore, it is better for ASEAN to stick with its current English policy, and to design the
framework of promoting English throughout the region. Indeed, this decision has its own consequences,
especially related to the extinction of local languages. However, ASEAN could prevent it by having a
well-designed policy that includes the curriculum of local languages as well. So, is it possible for having
the ASEAN language? Its a no for several years forward!