U.S President Barack Obama and singer Rihanna share more similarities than they may realize. They are both African-American descendants, relatively young, household names, and have been through a lot of adversities in life—more so for one than the other. One more thing: they have pulled a no-show in Indonesia more than once, although Obama beat Rihanna (no pun intended) to it by canceling his visit four times since November 2009, while the singer called off her concert twice in 2009.

The disappointed parties in Rihanna’s cancellation were just the promoter and a few thousand R&B fans who never get sick of listening to one of the most annoying verses ever written: “Umbrella...ella...ella”. But the entire nation, except for hardline group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, has been holding its breath and yearning for Obama to revisit the place he once spent two years of his childhood in.

All sorts of preparation have been set up. The U.S. Secret Service staff have been seen around his former school in Menteng, Central Jakarta, as part of the security measures. Teachers and students at the school have prepared the choir to perform the song whose opening line goes “Barack Obama, funny little boy/he used to be here, Barack Obama.”[1] A biographical novel and film have been wrapped up and ready to be presented to Obama.[2]

The national media has probably gone weary in reporting Obama visit and his cancellation. This write-up by yours truly has also been delayed a few times, as it was initially planned to be published in time with Obama’s visit. Constipation is never a good thing so we decided to go on with it, anyway. But none embodies, and therefore suffers, more than what is faced by the Obama statue in this anticipation rollercoaster. That bronze statue of little Obama standing on a pedestal with one hand holding out to the air, with a butterfly perching on it, begs us not to forget its existence.

Seven months have passed since the little Obama statue, which was made from the Rp100 million donations from several parties—including tycoon Hasyim Djojohadikusumo, owner of Papa Ron’s Pizza Ron Mullers, and MetroTV host Dalton Tanonaka—was out in the open and placed at Menteng Park, Central Jakarta. Within that period of time, it has been involved in a series of things: the pros and cons over the establishment and the placement of the statue; the formation of the group under the banner “Take Down the Obama Statue from Menteng Park” on Facebook;[3] the lawsuit from a group of people against Jakarta administration;[4] and finally the removal of the statue from the park to SDN 01 Menteng last February.[5]

From the public policy point of view, writer and Labora School of Management staff member, Protus Tanuhandaru, made an excellent observation in his op-ed article at The Jakarta Post in February 2010.[6] Protus wrote that a number of things have been missing in establishing the statue, including the lack of proper procedures and public participation. Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, head of the public information division of the Regional Government of the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, stated that “...the governor never issued any verbal or written permit to order anyone to place the statue in Menteng Park.” The statement is contrary to the fact stated by the inscription on the statue pedestal clearly which says, “Dedicated to the Children of Indonesia by Governor Fauzi Bowo, Friends of Obama, Ron Mullers, Dalton Tanonaka”. If there really was never any permit, then the erection of the statue was illegal, writes Protus.

Second, he goes on, to establish a statue in such a public space as Menteng Park, there needs to be public participation in the policy making process, in this case a consensus of the city council as the body representing the aspiration of the residents of Jakarta. So far, there is no real evidence showingthat the governor has indeed consulted the council.

Third—and this is the one issue that has often been put forward by many parties who are against the creation of the statue—is the common view deeming that a person deserves to be immortalized as a statue depending on how significant the person’s contribution is to the society.

Barack Obama is indeed an inspirational figure. Time, however, is still needed to judge his contribution to his own country, since he has been president for only two years—and this argument is even more valid in relation to his contribution to other countries.

It is not wrong to erect a statue of a foreigner, if indeed that foreigner has contributed significantly to the local society. Protus gave an example of the bronze statue of Irish Chang in China. Chang was an American journalist who wrote the book The Rape of Nanking, documenting the Japanese’s atrocities against the Chinese during World War II.[7] Chang’s contribution to the Chinese victims during the Sino-Japanese War was seen as significant and heroic, especially in relation to the settlement for the people of Nanking.

Another example was the erection of a 3.5 meter statue of the ex-president of the United States, Bill Clinton, at Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, in November 2009.[8] Clinton was hailed as a hero by ethnic Albanians majority because he encouraged NATO to bomb Yugoslavia in 1999 to stop the genocide committed by Slobodan Milosevic and his army against the group who was fighting for their independence.

Coming back to the issue of the Obama statue, however, apart from the fact that Obama’s contribution is still vague, the making of the statue actually revealed certain in sensitivity and a lack of appreciation for figures from Indonesia or Jakarta. Say, for example, Mohammad Husni Thamrin, the national hero who had fought for Indonesia’s independence and was known as an elegant politician who at the same time was harsh toward the colonial rulers. He was originally from Jakarta, coming from the Betawi ethnic group (although one of his grand parents was British). Then there was also the legendary governor Ali Sadikin, who built Jakarta as a metropolitan city with a variety of landmarks—from the Ismail Marzuki Arts Center to Jaya Ancol Dreamland, complete with a range of museums—with a starting regional budget of only Rp70 million.[9]

As a form of public art, there has been no lack of abnormalities in relation with the little Obama statue. Newport News Public Art Foundation defines public art as follows:

“By its presence alone public art can heighten our awareness, question our assumptions, transform a landscape, or express community values, and for these reasons it can have the power, over time to transform a city’s image. Public art helps define an entire community’s identity and reveal the unique character of a specific neighborhood. It is a unifying force.”[10]

Does the little Obama statue meet those criteria? Does it heighten our awareness? Transform a landscape? I do not think so. It does not even originate from any public consensus; how can it express community values?

Elisa Sutanudjaja, a lecturer of architecture at the Pelita Harapan University and one of the initiators of Ruang Jakarta,[11] refers to the classic concept proposed by the urban planning expert from the US, Kevin Lynch, about the Image of the City.[12] Lynch proposes that there are five elements functioning as markers in people’s mental images of a city: path, edge, district, node (for example a crossroad or a station), and landmark. Elisa believes that a single art public can fall into the category of a landmark. Landmarks have prominent visual forms within a city, with clear and unique shapes. Lynch also adds that “landmarks provide orientation and hint at the surrounding urban structure.”

“If we refer to the Image of the City, Obama’s statue isn’t able to meet the criteria for a landmark. Is it unique? It certainly is not. I personally think that the Obama statue in Menteng is no different from the garden gnomes that we can so easily find in American front yards,” Elisa said during a conversation with me.


*


In terms of tourism, the little Obama statue once again shows how the Indonesian government, in this case the regional government of the capital territory of Jakarta, falters in its effort to capitalize on existing resources to attract tourists.

It is not wrong to capitalize on something like the fact that the president of a superpower country had spent his childhood—albeit for fouryears only—in our country. However, if someone wishes to do it, he or she should do it right and plan it right—don’t just erect a statue in a public park without any consent from the public, so much so that eventually, due to people’s rejections, the public statue is moved to an elementary school situated on a narrow street.

The erection of the little Obama statue can actually put the school’ssecurity at risk. It is rather odd to see a school in Jakarta with such an open gate, through which people can easily come and go, and with an unattended security post. Usually, with the proliferation of news on kidnapping, sexual harassment, and drugs dealing—even inelementary schools—schools in Jakarta generally take a paranoid and protective attitude, by always locking the school gates, manned by security guards.

Perhaps one can imitate the ways of big cities such as London by organizing historical tours, or walking tours passing the streets and houses with plaques, indicating that famous people had lived there. Meanwhile, the Obama statue with questionable aesthetics and considerable expense, might eventually end up becoming a waste. The recognition for Obama might be given in symbolic and prudent ways, for example by installing plaques on the house and school of his childhood (this has been done, and that should actually be enough), or by bestowing him with a symbolic key to the city.


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There are other misconceptions in relation with this Obama statue. There is the view that the statue might serve as a source of inspiration for Indonesian children. The historian JJ Rizal compares Obama with Che Guevara, calling them both pop culture icons. His success in becoming the first black president of the United States was a phenomenon that has inspired the world. Rizal suggests that people who areopposed to the Obama statue should first read history books.

“Our first president, Sukarno, once said that nationalism was an ideology that grew in the midst of internationalism. I doubt if they [the people opposing the Obama statue] know that. Little Obama is a symbol of our pride and hope that someday we will have an inspiring figure like Obama in our country,” Rizal said, as quoted by The Jakarta Globe daily.[13]

The quote from Bung Karno is out of context. The man who proclaimed the Indonesian independence was actually talking about Indonesia’s role in the international political realm, which would eventually give rise to the Non-Aligned Movement. Rizal, however, admits that Indonesia has no lack of national figures who have done more to this country compared to the American president. “But do they inspire people? Obama inspires us. The power of an icon lies in how much it can inspire people,” Rizal says.

Obama certainly inspires people, but he is well known because he comes from a superpower country and is benefited from wide media coverage. Meanwhile, the coverage on numerous local figures, who might even be more inspirational and with great contributions to Indonesia, has been lacking, due to the insufficient teaching at school and scant media reports.

Several friends of mine, for example, only found out in their thirties that the H.R. Rasuna Said, whose name is used as street name, was a female, a heroine whose full name was Hajjah Rangkayo Rasuna Said. This is just one of the examples of how ineffective history lessons are at school.

There is no lack of inspirational local figures. We only have to dig deeper into the treasury of Indonesia history so that children and people in general are more aware of their own identities, history, and culture. To create a statue of a foreigner, no matter how inspirational that foreigner is, constitutes a short cut and an evasion of responsibility to provide better education.

JJ Rizal, however, does not stop there. He admits that Obama has not done anything significant for Indonesia, but he asks the Indonesian people to recognize how the American president always mentions Indonesia as the place where he first learns about pluralism. “He is proud to have spent some time in his life here, and he never forgets his childhood, including his favorite food such as nasi goreng [fried rice] and bakso [meat balls],” Rizal adds. Further, Rizal criticizes the people who oppose Obama’s statue, labeling them as chauvinistic.

The nationalism that JJ Rizal is talking about is actually a form of inferiority complex, which is often mistaken for nationalism. A friend of mine, the film director Joko Anwar, writes a witty and spot-on piece in the Yahoo!Indonesia blog in May 2010.[14] He talks of how a friend of his considered him as lacking in nationalism because a picture of the Japanese porn star Maria “Miyabi” Ozawa donning batik failed to stir in him a sense of pride.

Such an inferiority complex has been nurtured fromearly on by parents and the government, who maintain the mentality of colonized people.  People are oh-so-proud if there are foreigners who like Indonesian art and are interested to learn more about it. How happy Indonesians are to welcome foreigners who can speak a word or two in Indonesian.

We are happy, delighted, surprised, and proud every time Indonesia is mentioned, no matter how fleetingly; for example when there was the news of Mick Jagger’s wedding in Bali, or when the rap singer Missy Elliott mentioned Indonesia in one of her songs (although it was only an effort to maintain the rhyme in herlyrics), or when the American teen singer Michelle Branch (of whom we never hear anything anymore) was reported as having a half-Indonesian grandmother. What can be more amazing than the fact that the President of the United States, the only superpower in the world, has spent his childhood here in Indonesia, albeit for less than fouryears?

Indonesians simultaneously writhe in pleasure when the TV station RCTI aired the interview with President Obama in which he mimicked the sound of the Indonesian tukang sates. Very interesting, indeed, so much so that the interviewer wasted precious interview time by pushing such trifling matters such as “Gareng? Do you like Gareng? How about Petruk?”, complete with a cheesy grin. [Gareng and Petruk being the names of Indonesian wayang characters.]

We must celebrate this! Let’s make statues! Let’s write a novel titled Obama Anak Menteng [15] in five days and make its film adaptation in just two months![16] Let’s all be disappointed when President Obama cancels his visit to Indonesia—yet again!

Indeed, since November 2009, President Obama has called off his Indonesian visit four times already. If you wish to find some inspiration, this is the time to be inspired by Obama’s manner. He canceled the visit because there were more pressing issues to be dealt with in his country, starting from the effort to see through the healthcare reform package to BP’s oil spill crisis.

A fixed schedule for Obama’s visit is yet to come. This shows that Indonesia is not a priority for Obama and the US. It is time for us to open our eyes, establish priority, and do away with false sentimentalism.***




Jakarta, July 2010





HERA DIANI is a freelance journalist for national and international medias. Relocating from Bandung to Jakarta in 2000, she realized two basic matters. First, she could not afford not becoming a journalist. Second, it was, and still is, difficult to call Jakarta as home. But she thank the capital city that has both coached and acted as unlimited source of inspiration for her.