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Does Asean need a second language?
Malaysia has again proposed making Malay a working language of the polyglot 10-member grouping.
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The Malay language is already used widely in Asean, particularly in Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Joanne Lin
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Malaysia is at it again. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has recently proposed making Malay or Bahasa Melayu the second language of Asean to "elevate Malaysia's national language (to) the international level".
This is not the first instance where Malaysia has proposed using Bahasa Melayu as an official language in Asean. Former prime minister Najib Razak made a similar proposal in 2017, but no Asean-wide agreement resulted, as other member states clearly did not share the same aspiration.
