Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita & Cameron Bates | November 10, 2010
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| President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Indonesia on Wednesday. His speech garnered mostly praise on the Jakarta Globe's Facebook page. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) |
Jakarta. “Awesome,” “amazing,” “wonderful” and “great” were just four of the numerous reactions posted on the Jakarta Globe’s Facebook profile in response to United States President Barack Obama’s speech in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Shinta Purnama Sarie summed up the overwhelmingly positive response to Obama’s speech at the University of Indonesia, saying the address had left her speechless and that she admired him “so bad.”
She said it was amazing that the charismatic president, who she labeled as the best public speaker besides Martin Luther King, could pack so much content into a speech, covering development, democracy and religion in just 30 minutes.
Elizabeth A Matteson-Siregar wrote that as an American, she was “very impressed.”
“I am married to an Indonesian man and would love to come to Jakarta one day!!! To see the once home of our President. Perhaps this speech will be the beginning of a closer relationship with the US.”
Uthie Suka Kopi said the speech reminded her of those given by Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno. “Well played Mr President!”
Rumsari Darma noted that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would learn from Obama, including how to relate to his own people, by not being too “high & mighty, rigid and cold.”
Yuventius Nicky Nurman, a political advisor from the Center for Good Governance in Yogyakarta told the Jakarta globe on Wednesday that though he found nothing surprising about Obama’s speech, the US president had trumped Yudhoyono, who has failed to address issues of religious intolerance in Indonesia.
“Simply by mentioning religious tolerance and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [Unity in Diversity], Obama has made a very smart political move; he’s the first foreign president who has overstepped the Indonesia president,” he said.
Nicky said the speech was similar to the address he delivered at Cairo University in June, 2009, adding that on both occasions, Obama littered his presentation with language that reflected his knowledge of each country.
Overall, he said the speech was “not boring.” “It’s exactly what I expected from Obama.”
Nurfita Osman, a freshman at the University of Indonesia nursing school who saw the speech live, said she thought the speech was “mediocre.”
“We only went crazy and started to scream because he was talking about his childhood in Indonesia and his fondness for Indonesian food,” she said.
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Students cheering as United States President Barack Obama delivers his speech at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday. (AFP Photo/Jim Watson) |
“But he is such a great speaker. The speech was never boring because he delivered it with such passion and interesting gestures,” she said.
Harisa Permatasari, a freelance book translator who watched the speech from her home in Bandung, West Java, said that Obama knew exactly how to embrace his audience — by telling them a story they wanted to hear.
She said he described Indonesia so beautifully and brilliantly that it gave her goosebumps.
Dimas Novriandi, who works for a private company in Jakarta, said Obama had successfully delivered an important message to Indonesians.
“The speech touches our sense of nationality because Obama fluently talked about Bhinneka Tunggal Ika and the spirit of religious tolerance, which has been forgotten by many Indonesians,” he said.
Dimas said that he and his colleagues were mesmerized by the speech.
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