"Malay is a language in the Austronesian language family in Southeast Asia. This language has around 290 million speakers with 30 million being Malay and 260 million being Indonesian worldwide. This language is the national language and official language in Malaysia, also known as Bahasa Malaysia. Likewise in Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, also it is the root of Indonesian which is the official language of Indonesia," said Dra. Mardiah.
FIB USU PR - On Tuesday, May 28th 2024, the Malay Literature Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB), Universitas Sumatra Utara (USU) held a Malay Language Seminar with the theme The Future of the Malay Language by inviting speakers from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Dr. Noordin Mohd. Noor and FIB USU Lecturer Dr. Drs. Baharuddin, M. Hum. The seminar was also attended by Vice Dean II Dra. Heristina Dewi, M.Pd, Head of the Malay Literature Study Program, Dra. Mardiah Mawar Kembaren, M.A., Ph.D. Study Program Secretary, Lecturers and Students of Malay Literature at the FIB USU Prof. T. Amin Ridwan Hall.
Head of the Malay Literature Study Program Dra. Mardiah Mawar Kembaren, M.A., Ph.D in her opening remarks said that this seminar activity is a routine agenda carried out by the FIB USU Malay Literature Study Program to exchange knowledge and information related to developing matters regarding Malay. "Malay is a language in the Austronesian language family in Southeast Asia. This language has around 290 million speakers with 30 million being Malay and 260 million being Indonesian worldwide. This language is the national language and official language in Malaysia, also known as Bahasa Malaysia. Likewise in Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, also it is the root of Indonesian which is the official language of Indonesia," said Dra. Mardiah.
Apart from that, Malay is a form of regional language in North Sumatra, Kalimantan and is a trend in various regions of Indonesia and Indonesian is one of the working languages in East Timor. The use of the term Malay in Indonesia generally refers to Malay which is a regional language in Indonesia. Malay is the language of the archipelago in religious activities and also expands the use of the language, apart from this country, Malay language is also needed in other countries.
Vice Dean II Dra. Heristina Dewi, M.Pd, in her delivered speech said that the activities of the FIB USU Malay Literature Study Program were quite effective and internationally related. "Currently, the FIB USU Malay Literature Study Program is working on international accreditation so that its activities will be the goal of upgrading to international level. The activities of the FIB USU Malay Literature Study Program are also very useful and there are also many resource persons from Malaysia who are synonymous with Malay. The FIB USU Malay Literature Study Program continues to provide activities that have great international potential," said Dra. Herisitina.
Hopefully the knowledge provided by the resource person will be useful and serve as a goal in cultivating the Malay language domestically and abroad.