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War of words as language hits barrier

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Malaysia is upset that Indonesia classifies Malay as a foreign language, despite it being virtually the same as its own.

The Malaysian Information Minister, Mohamad Rahmat, said Indonesia was continuing to impose the same restrictions on Malaysian printed matter as it did on publications in Chinese and other languages despite requests by Malaysia for an exemption.

This means that Malaysian newspapers, magazines and books are subjected to checks by Customs officers and censors.

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Mr Rahmat said this was 'rather surprising' since linguists from both countries 'agreed long ago' the Indonesian language was the same as the Malay used in Indonesia's Riau islands.

Malaysian press reports suggest Indonesia appears to be implying that Malay was inferior to Indonesian.

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Mr Rahmat said he would raise the matter with the Indonesian Information Minister, Hartono, who was due to visit Malaysia soon.

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