IS OBAMA A NEW HOPE FOR INDONESIA ?

Bambang Udoyono

Latest polls show that Senator Obama is always on top. Bearing in mind that those polls are always accurate so far, it is almost certain that he will become the next US President. Today he is very popular in Indonesia because he spent his childhood in Indonesia. Indonesian people hope that he will win the election and he will lead a friendlier foreign policy to Indonesia. They hope that his administration will be more supportive to Indonesia in terms of economy, politics and defence. But I am afraid that they will be disappointed. I believe that their hope is too high.

The Indonesian Tempo magazine on its edition of April 27, 2008 wrote a report about his childhood in Jakarta. In 1967 his mother Stanley Ann Dunham married to an Indonesian man Lolo Soetoro. Then they moved to Jakarta where they lived in a small house in Rawamangun. Lolo worked for Indonesian army but then he moved to Union oil, an American oil company. When their economy got better they moved to a better area in Matraman Dalam. Lolo got a daughter Maya Soetoro from his marriage to Ann.

Obama was six years old when he got to Jakarta. First he went to Sekolah Dasar (elementary school) Fransiskus Strada Asisi. It is a Catholic school, not a madrasa (Islamic school). He studied there since 1968 to 1970. Then he moved to Sekolah Dasar (elementary school) 01 Besuki, Menteng. Today it is Sekolah Dasar Negri Menteng 01 at jalan (street) Besuki. Menteng is the name of the area. This is a public school which is run by the state. This is not a madrasa (Islamic school) either.

Darmawan, his teacher at 1st grade of Asisi school remembered him because he could barely speak Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia) at the time. After about five months he could speak Bahasa a little. Darmawan said that Obama only got 5 for Bahasa but he was very good at math. He was very smart, patient and sociable. He was also very helpful. One of his teacher remembered that at the 3rd grade he wrote about his ideals. He wrote that he wanted to be a president! His friends remembered him as a smart and sociable boy. He went to that school from 3rd to 4th grade. After that he moved back to Hawaii where he lived with his grand parents.

Meanwhile Lolo’s marriage with Ann got problems and finally it ended in 1980. Then Ann continued her study in Hawaii and for some years later she still worked as a consultant for an Indonesian bank. She also worked for Ford foundation in Jakarta.

In March 2008 Obama’s friend in Sekolah Dasar Besuki created Obama fans club but then they changed it into Besuki foundation. Of course they hope that their long lost friend will live in the white house someday. Indonesian people in general also hope that his foreign policy will bring more support to Indonesia. Is this hope realistic ?

Let’s find out his thought on foreign policy. In his official website www.barackobama.com there is a section on foreign policy. Unfortunately Indonesia is not mentioned. There are Russia, Europe, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Latin America and the Caribbean, and China on the list but Indonesia is not there. Does he forget Indonesia ?

Foreign policy is not based on personal feeling or interests. It is based on national interests or maybe more precisely based on big business’ interests. It is formulated by a team, not by one man only. Although the President may be a key on decision making process, the secretary of state, the National Security Advisor, and the military industrial complex are other important keys. Besides, the importance of Indonesia depends on the major current issues. Today global crisis will certainly dominate Obama’s time and energy. Although are there differences between Bush and Obama on foreign policy, the way foreign policy is formulated remain the same.

In short, it is hard to tell whether his foreign policy to Indonesia will change greatly. Indonesian must realize that US 1st priority is Israel, Russia, Europe, Iraq, Iran, Latin America but not Indonesia.