Pekanbaru, Riau, Aug. 16 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is proposing a support program for regional language preservation activists, amid growing concern over the extinction of local languages, an official said.

The program is expected to launch next year as many of the country's 718 regional languages are endangered, with five already declared extinct, Head of the ministry's Language Agency Hafidz Muksin said.

"We must not allow a language to die with its last speaker and be lost to future generations," he said during a dialogue with literary communities in Kampar, Riau Province, on Friday.

The proposed aid aims to recognize the work of activists preserving linguistic diversity, despite recent budget cuts t...