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President Obama and the first lady came and went. As it turned out, this extremely short but much-awaited visit left many memorable moments, though some for reasons that are less than edifying.

For the latter we can thank our infamous minister of communication and information for stealing the limelight when his little antic drew the attention of the Twitter world and spiraled out of control, capturing the imagination of satirists, comedians and porn stars, and turning the guileless man into an object of ridicule and derision.

Tifatul Sembiring was asking for it. Known for his aversion to skin-to-skin contact with women other than his many wives, his shaking of the first lady’s hand drew many scathing comments from this side of the Twitter continent, with most pointing out his blatant hypocrisy. He doesn’t want to shake hands with Indonesian women but is quite happy to shake hands with Michelle Obama? Anxious not to be seen as anything other than morally upright, Tifatul twittered a helpful explanation that more or less blamed the hapless Mrs. Obama for extending her hand too far out so that it touched his.

Needless to say, his response became easy fodder for stand-up comedians. Indonesia has became a country known not only for its tsunamis, earthquakes, bombs, smiling terrorists and where people communicate by banging coconuts against a log, but also for having an a******* for a minister. To add insult to injury, one Vicky Vette, who described herself on Twitter as “just a big boobed Norwegian hacking away a living on the internet,” took a fancy to our man and offered him generous services should he come to visit the United States. “Come to the USA & shake anything you want,” goes one of her more fit-to-print tweets.

Enough of the ridiculous, let’s go to the sublime: President Obama’s speech at the University of Indonesia. After getting a coveted invitation to attend his lecture I looked at the lengthy instructions handed out to those planning to attend. You couldn’t go to Depok in your own car but had to go by designated buses from Senayan that would leave at the crack of dawn. No bags were allowed, although cameras and mobile phones were.

The thought of having to get up at four in the morning for a lecture that would take place around mid-morning gave me second thoughts. I checked with my sister to see if she was going. She replied she couldn’t go anywhere without her bag, so that was that. As it was, I managed to drag myself to Senayan at five in the morning, got my name cross-checked on the guest list, put on the Power Balance wristband I had to wear to get on the bus and then we were off, witnessing the sun rise on the way.

The University of Indonesia campus in Depok was eerily quiet. It was closed to students, the general public and businesses. Entering the main hall, there were security checks and body checks. Men and women in black with earpieces peeking out of one ear discretely roamed the area. We had to show our invitations and wristbands before entering the hall. More men in black were strategically positioned, their eyes trained like hawks. It was like being in a Hollywood film.

The few hours waiting for the arrival of President Obama went by quicker than I imagined. The university hall that can fit more than 5,000 people filled up in an orderly manner. No wonder those of us coming by bus from Senayan had to come extra early. We were privileged to occupy the front seats near the podium. I suddenly felt like an Obama groupie. Ministers, the university rector and other high officials sat behind us, including former President Habibie, who got a warm round of applause from the audience and students as he smiled, waved and took pictures.

Obama’s elementary school classmates came dressed in uniform batik shirts for the men and ethnic clothes for the women. The sense of anticipation was taking on the atmosphere of a rock concert waiting for the star to arrive. When the man himself got on stage, the audience rose to its feet to cheer and take pictures.

President Obama had us at “ Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera.” When he said “ Pulang kampung nih,” the love arrows were well in our hearts. By the time he got to “ Indonesia bagian dari diri saya” the audience went into a paroxysm of cheers.

We lapped up every word, every smile, every look, every tone of voice and every wave of the hand like adoring fans. It was a rare treat for Indonesians to be made to feel so special, appreciated, honored and cared for by a leader in a manner that roused our romantic and sentimental side. President Obama left the room to the cries of “We love you Barry!”

 
Desi Anwar is a senior anchor at Metro TV. She can be contacted at www.desianwar.com and www.dailyavocado.net.