Obama Says ‘Apa Kabar,’ Can’t Wait To Come To Indonesia

JAKARTA LIFE'S STYLE. New York. US President Barack Obama has again informally spoken of his plan to visit Indonesia, once more mentioning favorite foods he remembers from the four years of his childhood he spent in Jakarta.

“I will come to Indonesia again to taste my favorite foods such as nasi goreng , bakso and mie goreng [fried rice, meat balls and fried noodles],” the Indonesian ambassador to the United States, Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat, quoted Obama as saying at a reception with foreign ambassadors in Washington on Thursday.

Obama lived in Menteng, Central Jakarta from 1967-71.

He has mentioned his plan to visit Indonesia several times, including once recently during a conversation with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“But the specific date of Obama’s visit to Indonesia has yet to be fixed, and we are still waiting for confirmation from the US side,” Parnohadiningrat said.

The ambassador said that Obama also dusted off some of his Bahasa Indonesia during their brief chat.

Parnohadiningrat quoted Obama as saying, “ Hallo, apa kabar ? Saya malam ini sudah berbicara Bahasa Indonesia kepada dua orang dan anda orang kedua.” (“Hello, how are you? I’ve tried to speak Bahasa Indonesia with two people tonight, and you are the second.”)

He said that Obama also reiterated the commitment of the United States to assist Indonesia in times of crisis, especially after the July 17 bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels.

Obama made a similar commitment in a statement issued by the White House shortly after the Jakarta bombings, and in a telephone conversation with Yudhoyono.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry has previously expressed hope that Obama will visit Jakarta in November, in conjunction with his visit to Singapore for an Asia-Pacific Economic Forum meeting.

Antara thejakartaglobe.com