KUALA LUMPUR: Malay language and civilisation studies should be expanded throughout Southeast Asia to find common ground to drive the region to the international stage.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this is because ethnic Malays make up almost half of Asean's 670 million people.
Therefore, he said, it is very important that Malay civilisation be studied in depth — especially by the younger generation — in order to establish closer cooperation in the region.
"In the context of Asean, Malay civilisation is very important to drive the Southeast Asian region to compete on the world stage. We are not strong if we are alone.
"Southeast Asia is the third largest population sub-region in Asia after India and China.
"This strength should be used, but we need to get to know each other and understand our own culture in order to find common ground," he said in his speech during the inauguration of the Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob Chair at the Thai Global Business Administration Technological College.
Ismail also hoped the proposal to make Malay the second language of Asean will continue.
He said the majority of people in the archipelago speak the same basic language, which is Malay, even though it is known by a different name.
"Singapore's national language is Malay even though English is used in all daily affairs in the country.
"Because of that, I suggested that Malay be made the second language of Asean in a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo when I led the Malaysian government in April 2022.
"He agreed, but a polemic arose in the country claiming that Indonesian is more worthy of being the second language of Asean."
