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January 11, 2009
Does Barack Obama Speak Indonesian?
A 2007 Time magazine story affirms this:
When prominent Indonesians visit the U.S., the first person they want to meet is Obama, says Parnohadiningrat Sudjadnan, the Indonesian ambassador to the U.S. "Back home people think of him as one of us, or at least one who understands us," he says, adding that they are delighted to find that Obama speaks passable Bahasa, the language spoken in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Certainly an unusual language for a U.S. president to speak. It will be interesting to see whether he decides to use Bahasa in public. It would certainly endear him to the millions of the world's most populous Muslim nation, but it might also subject him to the attack of nativists back home.
Posted by Anupam Chander on January 11, 2009 at 10:41 AM | Permalink
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Comments
And to think I was impressed with Obama's eloquence in his campaign commercials in _Spanish_.
Posted by: Andy Jones | Jan 16, 2009 10:41:28 AM
apparently he has:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/22/obamas-impresses-state-de_n_160186.html
Posted by: kb | Jan 23, 2009 1:16:22 AM
i found that obama speaks indonesian, i posted it on my blog..
it start when one of the staff greet him with bahasa
"selamat siang!" which means good afternoon, and Obama reply with
"terima kasih, apa kabar?" which means "thank you, how are you?"
then tha staff said "baik- baik saja" which means "im fine"
then the staff tell him that he live in his neighbor on menteng and obama told him that he wasnt lives in menteng, menteng is for a rich people and i was in menteng dalam which means below menteng..
as indonesian im really proud of the us president his so kind and really smart, and he still remembering my country after his childhood
Posted by: suharsya | Jan 24, 2009 4:08:55 AM
It should be a matter of pride for any country to have a president that speaks non common languages.
Also Bahasa is a little bit difficult to learn, so it shows dedication and skills.
I don't think it should be a reason to criticize or attack...
Posted by: Florida Medical Centers | Jan 29, 2011 11:38:33 AM
Barack Obama has shown an incredible capacity to comunicate ideas and dreams to all americans.
It is a real proof that he has many skills, so he speaking different languages shouldn't be a motive for critics.
It is actually a reason to create new directions in the american politics!!
Posted by: Florida Certified Public Accountants | Jan 29, 2011 2:40:07 PM
