Word: jakarta
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...with reporting by Robert Horn /Bangkok, Austin Ramzy / Beijing and Jason Tedjasukmana / Jakarta...
...Better Grades At least, at his Alma Mater in Jakarta, the Menteng school, the American President can be assured of an unreserved welcome. Two weeks before Obama was due to arrive in the Indonesian capital, batik-clad students practiced a traditional Indonesian gamelan-orchestra performance they hope to play for him. School principal Hasimah is proud of the school's connection to Obama, showing off a class photo of a young Barry standing among a crowd of Indonesian students. "His story provides a huge motivation to our students," she says. "It means that no matter what your background...
...curious bronze statue of a 10-year-old Barack Obama quickly turned into a tourist attraction. Foreigners flocked to the park in Jakarta to honor the U.S. President, who spent four years of his childhood in the Indonesian capital. Locals visited too, but they weren't as pleased. "Indonesians didn't want the statue here," says Yunus, a park keeper. After three months, the monument was quietly moved to a nearby school where Obama studied. "I'm not against Obama," says Protus Tanuhandaru, one of the founders of a Facebook page that called for the figure's removal...
Indonesia itself deserves no less. The 17,000-island archipelago boasts the world's biggest Muslim population and is also its third largest democracy, demonstrating that Islam and political freedom are not incompatible. Back when Obama lived in Jakarta, Indonesia was ruled by a dictator and mired in poverty. Today it is a member of the G-20 club of the wealthiest economies. "Foreigners used to think of Indonesia as a place of natural disasters," says Gita Wirjawan, the head of the nation's investment board. "But now they realize that this is a $550 billion economy that...
...Back in Jakarta, such geopolitical worries are far from the minds of children at the Menteng elementary school where Obama studied. Annisa Luthpia, 10, practicing a xylophone tune she hopes to perform for the U.S. President, giggles when asked what religion Obama is. She doesn't know--and doesn't care. Says the Muslim girl Annisa of the Christian American President: "He seems like a very nice man." Obama's challenge is to persuade Asians that he's more than just that...