Bahasa Cuts 'Risky'

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Melville Times 15/02/2011 Page: 1 By: Jessica Nico Section: General News Region: Perth Circulation: 31209 Type: Suburban Size: 197.00 sq.cms Frequency: -T----- Bahasacuts'risky' Lack of Indonesian language courses sparks concern By JESSICA NICO

A MURDOCH University profes-happens, we will always live nextlanguage experts and universities sor has warned that the rapid de-door to them, so we have to man-from across Australia. clineof Indonesian languageage that relationship in the most The colloquium aimed to come learning in Australia could haveproductive way," he said. up with concrete proposals to re- consequences for international re- "Like any relationship, weverse the trend. lationships between the two na-have to communicate and under- Murdoch student Tamsyn But- tions. stand the different perspectives inler had to move to WA from Tas- South East Asian Studies lec-the relationship, and the only waymania because of a lack of Indone- turer David Hill said the numberwe can do that is to understandsian courses in that State's uni- of people studying Indonesian isthe language; if we don't, we can'tversities, but she was forced to declining by as many as 10,000 an-understand the forces that drivechange universities after two nually, despite it being dubbed athat society, such as culture, reli-years because the course was cut. 'nationally strategic language' bygion and politics. "I had to swap universities the Australian Government. "There are all kinds of wayswhen a Bahasa Indonesian course Prof Hill said the decline hadthat we need to relate to and workwas cut at Curtin University, been steady but relentless in thepositively with Indonesians, andwhich wasted a lot of HECS and last decade and at least five uni-that is at risk if we don't havetime," she said. versity Indonesian programs hadcompetent Indonesian-speaking "This was because there were closed in the past eight years. graduates." only four students who had cho- "Australia's relationship with In a bid to combat the decline,sentocontinuethecourse Indonesia is one of the most im-Murdoch hosted the National Col-through to the second semester in portant international relation-loquium on the Future of Indone-their second year." ships we have because whateversian in Australian Universities last week, which brought together