I'm a distributor for Coffee Luwak (kopi luwak), an Indonesian specialty product.
While those on the production frontline are mainly native (pribumi) Indonesians, us in the marketing mainly deal with customers from Western countries. Naturally, English is the main language of communication (occasionally French for those who deal with French customers).
No doubt the Chinese Indonesian managers who has to deal with the frontline bumi workers daily are required to be conversant (i.e. "bahasa pasar") in Bahasa Indonesia. But this level of Bahasa can be easily acquired within few months if not weeks outside of schools. In fact, many of the Chinese Indonesian elites attend English schools with minimal exposure to Bahasa Indonesia.
With the rise of China, Chinese Indonesians are reconnecting with their ancestral language and heritage. English and Chinese are currently the two most valuable languages in Southeast Asia. I'm not saying that Chinese Indonesians will or should give up Bahasa but conversational level is sufficient. This is exactly how the Chinese Malaysians are now (conversant in Malay, proficient in English and/or Mandarin).
Face the reality bro.
