JP/R. Berto Wedhatama
JAKARTA: Comedian-turn politician Dedi Suwandi Gumilar, better known as Miing, does not appear to have forgotten his previous job.
At the premier meeting between the House of Representatives’ Commission X —which Miing is a new member of — and the education ministry last week, he successfully made ministry officials and fellow lawmakers burst into laughter upon hearing his inconsistent use of Indonesian.
Miing began his speech criticizing National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh for frequently using English terms in his presentation of the ministry’s first 100-day programs.
“Using Indonesian [rather than English] is a way to shape the nation’s character. Can this ministry please speak Indonesian as it should be spoken unless you can’t find Indonesian words for certain technical terms,” said Miing, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
In less than three minutes later, however, Miing peppered his sentences with English words when describing the qualities and skills Indonesian school graduates should possess.
“They shouldn’t just be able to apply ‘logical thinking’ [instead of berpikir logis] and come out [of the system] ‘educated’ [instead of terdidik], but they must also be ‘knowledgeable’ [berpengetahuan] and have ‘skills’ [keterampilan],” he said, sparking hilarious laughter and protests from the audience.
“Use Indonesian, please,” interrupted Commission X head Mahyuddin NS, who chaired the meeting.
Miing bit his tongue and continued his speech more carefully. — JP
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|