October 25, 2025 | 08:52 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Member of House Commission X (DPR), Bonnie Triyana, stated that it would be better for President Prabowo Subianto to expand the teaching of the Mandarin language rather than introducing Portuguese in Indonesian schools. The PDIP party Faction legislator believes that the government should reconsider because Portuguese is not a widely used language in international interactions.
According to Bonnie, President Prabowo's statement was made to entertain the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during their meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. "Perhaps the President was entertaining President Lula as part of diplomacy," said Bonnie in a written statement on Saturday, October 25, 2025.
Bonnie, a member of the House of Representatives' Education Committee, believes that requiring students to learn Portuguese would be a burden, as it would also require teachers to become proficient in the language. Students should be given the option to choose whether to take Portuguese as they would an extracurricular activity or an additional subject. "Students should be allowed to choose whether to participate in the lessons or not," he said.
On the other hand, Bonnie questioned the availability of teachers who would instruct the students in Portuguese. He stated that additional lessons would require additional funding to support them. "But once again, the question is who will teach? Where will the teachers come from? Are they ready in terms of budget?" she said.
Bonnie suggested that schools should focus more on teaching English or Mandarin as they are mandatory and international languages. "It's better to maximize the quality of English language teaching. Or if there's a need for additional language lessons, Mandarin would be far more strategic to teach."
President Prabowo Subianto previously stated that Portuguese would be taught in Indonesian schools. President Prabowo conveyed the decision during his meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, October 23, 2025.
During the bilateral meeting, the two leaders discussed various issues, including the Portuguese language. Prabowo initially emphasized that Brazil is an important partner of Indonesia. Therefore, Prabowo decided to introduce Portuguese into the Indonesian school curriculum.
Hendrik Yaputra contributed to the writing of this article
Editor's Choice: Indonesia's Prabowo Orders Portuguese to Be Taught in Schools
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