Indonesians pray for Obama to win US presidency

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - While the US presidential campaign is raging, many Indonesians have made up their minds that candidate Barack Obama would make a great president, with his childhood time in the country making him a local favourite.

Obama, 46, was enrolled in two primary schools in Jakarta in the late 1960s.

"We are very proud to have one of our students being a candidate in the United States presidential race," Kuwadiyanto, headmaster of the SDN (State Elementary School) Besuki, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

SDN Besuki is a highly regarded public school which accepts students from various religious backgrounds. Subjects taught are in accordance with the national curriculum and non-Muslim students receive religious instruction in their own religion in a separate classroom.

Obama, who was born in the US state of Hawaii, moved to Indonesia at age 6 after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married Muslim Indonesian Lolo Soetoro following the end of her marriage to Obama's Kenyan father. Attending schools in Jakarta until age 10, Obama returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.

"This is absolutely unique that the US presidential campaign relates on a personal level to Indonesians," Kuwadiyanto said.

He said that since the news came out that Obama had attended the school, he has been interviewed by many foreign journalists.

"We were really surprised to hear the news," Kuwadiyanto said, adding that he hoped Obama's childhood experiences would help him bring Indonesia and the US closer if he becomes president.

Teachers, schoolmates and friends in Indonesia remember the young Obama as a smart student.

The SDN Besuki, now known as SDN Menteng 01, is located in the posh Menteng residential area, one of the most affluent parts of Jakarta.

Founded in 1934 by the Dutch colonial administration for the children of the Dutch colonists and Indonesian nobility, the school has attracted mostly middle-to-upper-class students, among them several children and grandchildren of the late Indonesian dictator Suharto.

Today the school, which has 474 students, is one of the country's model schools and part of the Association of South-East Asian Nations' coalition of model schools.

"I wasn't aware Obama was ever enrolled here before the news surfaced - after he won a number of (Democratic primary election) states in February," Kuwadiyanto said.

Achmad Solichin, vice principal of the SDN Menteng school, expressed hope that if Obama is elected president, he would bring a new perspective on religion, in particular Islam.

"Although he never embraced Islam, at least he knew about Islam in Indonesia," he said.

Before attending the SD Besuki school, Obama went to a Catholic school, Franciscus Assisi, where an old document showed he enrolled as a Muslim, the religion of his stepfather. The school required that each student choose one of the five sanctioned religions when registering - Muslim, Catholic or Protestant, Buddhist and Hindu.

"He spent three years here in this school," said Israela Darmawan, 64, Obama's first-grade teacher in 1968. "We recognize him as Barry Soetoro because he was registered here as Barry Soetoro."


Physical characteristics

Darmawan said he remembered Obama for his physical characteristics - exceptionally tall, with black skin and curly hair.

"He was really different from the others - tall and heavy. Obama was a bright kid, had sharp skills in math. At the beginning, Obama seemed a little shy but he quickly picked up the local language," Darmawan said. 'He wrote an essay titled, I Want to Become President.' "

"We will be very proud," if Obama is elected president, Darmawan said.

A group of about 20 of Obama's former Indonesian school friends early this month formed an Obama fan club as a way of showing their support for the Illinois senator.

Obama also has a following among the current generation of Indonesian school children.

"I will pray for Obama to win the Democratic nomination and eventually become the US president," said Joy Power, a 10-year-old pupil at Francisus Assisi.

Many Indonesians have expressed hope that if Obama is elected president he would be able to improve the relations between Indonesia and the US.

Although Jakarta has close security ties with Washington, a number of policies of President George W Bush's administration, particularly in the Middle-East, are unpopular in predominantly Muslim Indonesia.

One of Obama's old school friends, Emirsyah Satar, said he remembered Obama as a good sportsman, particularly at football playing marbles.

"When he spent his school time at SD Besuki, Obama was one of the best players of marbles and football," said Satar, who is also the president-director of the national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia.

"This (ability) must help him win the presidential nomination and eventually become the US president." (*)