Tuesday, 30 August 2022. Regional Office for Language in East Kalimantan Province (abbreviated as KBPKT) held a Dissemination of Data Analysis Results for Institution Cultivation to Prioritize the State Language year 2022-2024 in North Kalimantan Province. It took place at the Prince Khar Hotel, Tanjungselor, Bulungan.
The event was officially opened by the Head of North Kalimantan Legislative Council (DPRD), Albertus S. M., and attended by 12 targeted institutions, namely the North Kalimantan Regional Secretariat, North Kalimantan Education Agency, North Kalimantan Tourism Agency, North Kalimantan Transportation Agency, State Senior High School 1 Tanjung Selor, State Senior High School 2 Tanjung Selor, State Vocational School 1 Tanjung Selor, State Junior High School 1 Tanjung Selor, State Junior High School 2 Tanjung Selor, Prince Khar Hotel, and Bu Yayuk Restaurant. The presenters of the event were the Head of KBPKT Halimi Hadibrata, the Head of the North Kalimantan Ombudsman Maria Ulfah, as well as Penyuluh Bahasa (Language Educator) Nurul Masfufah and Yudianti Herawati from KBPKT.
In his speech, Halimi Hadibrata said that the motivation for this activity was people’s indifferent attitude to prioritize the State Language while, on the contrary, becoming prouder of foreign languages. The State Language prioritization has been mandated in the 1945 Constitution Article 36, Law Number 24 of 2009 concerning the State Flag, Language, and Emblem, as well as the National Anthem, Government Regulation Number 57 of 2014 concerning Development, Cultivation, and Protection of Language and Literature, as well as Improvement of Indonesian Language Function, Presidential Regulation Number 63 of 2019 concerning the Use of Indonesian Language, and Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Circular Letter Number 12 of 2018 concerning Prioritizing State Language in Public Spaces. Therefore, the KBPKT will open Klisara (Language and Literature Clinic) service to provide government and private institutions to consult on the use of the State Language. Furthermore, Halimi Hadibrata requested DPRD to help to realize the Regional Government Regulation concerning Language and Literature in North Kalimantan.
Representing the Government of North Kalimantan Albertus, S. M., in his speech, expressed his gratitude for the dissemination. According to him, Indonesian is a national identity that must be prioritized. “This event is one of the efforts to cultivate and prioritize the State Language in government, education, and non-government institutions. Language is a wealth that must be protected and preserved. Currently, there is a tendency for language extinction. This phenomenon has also hit Indonesian languages due to various factors. In particular, school headmasters have an important role to make school an institution for developing State language and indigenous languages,” stated Albertus S. M. Finally, the Head of North Kalimantan Legislative Council (DPRD) conveyed the aspirations of the North Kalimantan to KBPKT to help to realize the establishment of Balai Bahasa (Regional Agency for Language) in North Kalimantan for its very important role in developing and fostering the Indonesian language and indigenous language in North Kalimantan.
In the presentation session, Maria Ulfah, the first speaker, delivered the Ombudsman Support in Prioritizing State Language at Institutions in North Kalimantan. Maria Ulfa explained the history of the Ombudsman, the scope of public services, and the legal basis to prioritize State Language in public services. Maria Ulfah thanked KBPKT for providing the opportunity and involving the North Kalimantan Ombudsman to improve public services by prioritizing the State Language as well as coordinating with the institutions present.
Halimi Hadibrata presented the Policy and Use of Language in Public Spaces. Yudianti Herawati conveyed the Use of Language in Official Letters. Nurul Masfufah disseminated the Data Analysis Results of Public Spaces in Bulungan Regency. On that occasion, the participants were enthusiastic and issued several questions to the speakers.
The chairman of the committee, Ali Kusno, mentioned the dissemination as a part of a series following hearings and collecting language data of public space and correspondence documents in 12 agencies in North Kalimantan. Then, it will be continued with linguistic assistance improvement on language use those the 12 agencies. At the end of 2022, an evaluation and award will be carried out. At the end of 2024, hopefully, the use of language in 12 agencies in North Kalimantan have prioritized the proper and correct Indonesian to become the best practice for other institutions.
Translated by Muhammad Erwin Darma