ID :
28764
Thu, 11/06/2008 - 18:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/28764
The shortlink copeid
Former Indonesian classmates cheer Obama's election victory
JAKARTA, Nov. 5 Kyodo - Former classmates of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama at a Jakarta elementary school congratulated him Wednesday for winning the U.S. presidential election and said they hope ''Barry'' -- Obama's nickname among his Indonesian classmates -- will bring peace to the world.
Dewi Asmara Oetojo, an Indonesian member of parliament, said she felt relieved
and grateful to the God after seeing television coverage of her former
classmate's victory in the election.
Born in Hawaii, Obama spent four years in Indonesia after his mother, from
Kansas, divorced his Kenyan father and married an Indonesian.
Obama went to an Indonesian Catholic kindergarten in South Jakarta and a public
school in the elite Menteng area in Central Jakarta.
''This is not a victory for the American people alone but also a victory for
most nations of the world. I hope his victory will bring peace to the world as
I hope he will utilize his intellectual diplomacy and other wiser and peaceful
methods to settle conflicts and issues in the world,'' Oetojo said.
''He is a man with a global background and is himself a mixture of East and
West, so I hope he can become a bridge between the East and the West,'' said
Oetojo, who was a student leader in third and fourth grade while Obama was in
school in Indonesia.
Another classmate, Rully Dassaad, who acts as coordinator for about 30 former
Obama classmates, said, ''America should be grateful'' to have an extraordinary
man like Obama as its next president.
''We are proud to watch him become a great leader. We hope he can contribute to
a peaceful and better world,'' Dassaad said.
Former classmate Emirsyah Satar, who is chief executive officer of the national
flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, said he hopes Obama will be able to bring the
faltering U.S. economy back on its feet.
''As this global crisis originated in the United States, I hope his leadership
will bring the U.S. economy back on track as any crisis that occurs in the
United States affects the rest of the world,'' Satar said.
Oetojo and Dassaad remember Obama as a cheerful and friendly classmate at the
semi-government-run SD Percobaan Besuki elementary school, located in the heart
of Jakarta's affluent Menteng neighborhood.
Dassaad said his classmates have been busy explaining to foreign journalists
that their school was never an Islamic madrasa but a semi-government-run school
which drew students from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Oetojo said Obama memorized Indonesia's Pancasila state ideology, which
students are required to say aloud during flag raising ceremonies every Monday.
''He (Obama) was also a fast learner who mastered the Indonesian language in
three months,'' Oetojo said.
''We were always afraid if he was not in our team when playing baseball.
Because any team with him in it would always win as his large physique and
skill helped a lot,'' Oetojo said.
Deril, a student at SD Percobaan Besuki, said he is proud that the next U.S.
president studied at his school.
''I hope Obama will come here someday to visit us here,'' he told Elshinta Radio.
==Kyodo
Dewi Asmara Oetojo, an Indonesian member of parliament, said she felt relieved
and grateful to the God after seeing television coverage of her former
classmate's victory in the election.
Born in Hawaii, Obama spent four years in Indonesia after his mother, from
Kansas, divorced his Kenyan father and married an Indonesian.
Obama went to an Indonesian Catholic kindergarten in South Jakarta and a public
school in the elite Menteng area in Central Jakarta.
''This is not a victory for the American people alone but also a victory for
most nations of the world. I hope his victory will bring peace to the world as
I hope he will utilize his intellectual diplomacy and other wiser and peaceful
methods to settle conflicts and issues in the world,'' Oetojo said.
''He is a man with a global background and is himself a mixture of East and
West, so I hope he can become a bridge between the East and the West,'' said
Oetojo, who was a student leader in third and fourth grade while Obama was in
school in Indonesia.
Another classmate, Rully Dassaad, who acts as coordinator for about 30 former
Obama classmates, said, ''America should be grateful'' to have an extraordinary
man like Obama as its next president.
''We are proud to watch him become a great leader. We hope he can contribute to
a peaceful and better world,'' Dassaad said.
Former classmate Emirsyah Satar, who is chief executive officer of the national
flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, said he hopes Obama will be able to bring the
faltering U.S. economy back on its feet.
''As this global crisis originated in the United States, I hope his leadership
will bring the U.S. economy back on track as any crisis that occurs in the
United States affects the rest of the world,'' Satar said.
Oetojo and Dassaad remember Obama as a cheerful and friendly classmate at the
semi-government-run SD Percobaan Besuki elementary school, located in the heart
of Jakarta's affluent Menteng neighborhood.
Dassaad said his classmates have been busy explaining to foreign journalists
that their school was never an Islamic madrasa but a semi-government-run school
which drew students from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Oetojo said Obama memorized Indonesia's Pancasila state ideology, which
students are required to say aloud during flag raising ceremonies every Monday.
''He (Obama) was also a fast learner who mastered the Indonesian language in
three months,'' Oetojo said.
''We were always afraid if he was not in our team when playing baseball.
Because any team with him in it would always win as his large physique and
skill helped a lot,'' Oetojo said.
Deril, a student at SD Percobaan Besuki, said he is proud that the next U.S.
president studied at his school.
''I hope Obama will come here someday to visit us here,'' he told Elshinta Radio.
==Kyodo
