OBAMA

Indonesians have no rights to vote in the 2008 US presidential election. But it matters them so much due to the Democrat camp’s presidential candidate, Barack Obama. He is special in the eyes of many Indonesians because his step-father is an Indonesian man. He had even studied at a primary school inMenteng, Central Jakarta, when he followed his parents' move from America to Indonesia long time ago. No matter what religion he embraces because spirituality and believing in God are personal business. Obama has publicly announced that he is a Christian in response to his political opponents’ attacks on his Indonesian and Moslem connections. His father is a Kenyan Muslim while his mother, a White American woman, is Christian. The latter took care of him until she got married to an Indonesian man. What is more important for Indonesians, like me, is a new hope for a stronger relationship between the United States and Indonesia, and also between the superpower and the Muslim world as a result of Obama's victory in the presidential election. That's my expectation. I believe his multi-cultural backgrounds will enable him to have empathy and correct understanding about those from other cultures. The empathy and understanding are then reflected in the US foreign policies, which are not built within the politics of fear mode. Instead the foreign policies which help build a peaceful co-existence in the world. His journey to the White House remains far away. But his pledge to bring a new hope to his people under his fresh leadership is indeed a long-awaited expectation of the world community. If Obama wins, it is also a victory of Indonesians who want a true peace and harmony among nations in the world. Keep on moving Obama…