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Indonesian President’s New Plane ‘Will Benefit Future Leaders’
Arientha Primanita | February 10, 2012

Lambock Nahattands , a spokesman for the state secretary’s office, shows off the new ‘Indonesian Air Force One’ plane, a Boeing 737-800 Business Jet, during a media conference in Jakarta on Thursday. The amount of money spent on the plane has drawn criticism. Antara Photo/Widodo S Jusuf Lambock Nahattands , a spokesman for the state secretary’s office, shows off the new ‘Indonesian Air Force One’ plane, a Boeing 737-800 Business Jet, during a media conference in Jakarta on Thursday. The amount of money spent on the plane has drawn criticism. Antara Photo/Widodo S Jusuf
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JohnEnglish
9:19am Feb 11, 2012

It's rarely I read something that causes me to laugh out load...I did this morning. Thank you padt, you've brightened my day.

donQidic
1:53am Feb 11, 2012

@jimmymcgila

Loved your "NOW LUCU" comment, a variation on an old English joke, but, what the hey, keep posting dude, 'the Glob' needs more posters like your good self.

KCCO

jimmymcgila
5:46pm Feb 10, 2012

NOW LUCU ....Guy sitting on kerb of pavement ... He has a hammer in his hand and He is hitting his head hardly with the hammer ...Passer by asks why are you doing that...Guy with hammer Answers "Because it feels So Good when I stop" Sorry But yougotta laugh

jimmymcgila
5:40pm Feb 10, 2012

PS I love commenting to the Jglobe as different people have different opinions Which is very constructive as My opinion may be stupid or not So having different opinions makes us all think Maby I was wrong No problem as long as the End Result is Good Thanks JGlobe

jimmymcgila
5:35pm Feb 10, 2012

Hi JGlobe My Opinion

Yes it is good the Presedential plane should be the best available My reasoning is :- The Boss of a country has # 1 Important job ie bring money into the country which HOPEFULLY will benefit the populus as o whole So as long as the profit speads amoungst the people Then I think it is a good investment Come on Do you expect your President To fly on a budget airline Get Real

The spokesman for the state secretary’s office said on Thursday that the controversial $89 million purchase of a new presidential plane made sense because of the mileage future Indonesian presidents would get out of it.

“Don’t assume that the current president [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] is the only one who wants to use the plane,” said Lambock Nahattands, the state secretary office’s secretary.

The new plane, a 737-800 series Boeing Business Jet, is not scheduled to be ready for action until August 2013, while the president’s term ends in October 2014, Lambock said.

Lambock said the presidential palace would probably use the plane for 35 years, in keeping with a 2006 Ministry of Transportation regulation on aviation standards.

“So we can see who gets to enjoy the plane,” Lambock said. “The current president and vice president will only get to use it for a short time.”

Budget watchdog the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) has criticized the purchase, saying the plane is too lavish and unnecessary an expenditure for a country with so many millions of people mired in poverty.

Fitra also accused the palace of exceeding the $58 million budget approved by the House of Representatives, accusing the palace of failing to publicly mention another $31 million that had been earmarked to outfit the plane’s interior and pay for its security system.

Lambock said the extra spending was necessary.

“For the interior and security we will hold a tender and the price can still change,” he said, adding that the government had respectively earmarked $27 million and $4 million for the interior and security features.

Earlier reports have indicated that the plane’s onboard amenities would include a bedroom, bathroom and shower, as well as a dining area and conference room. Lambock said the government had been planning to purchase a presidential plane even before Yudhoyono became president in 2004.

Currently, the president uses a plane rented from flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. Lambock said the new arrangement would ultimately save money and add safety.

Indonesia also requested Boeing to install six more fuel tanks so the plane could do a 12 hour non-stop flight, just like Boeing’s biggest plane, the 747.

“We need a plane that can both land on small runways and do long flights, so we need a special configuration,” Lambock said.

In a nod to the plane used by the president of the United States, the new aircraft would be called “Indonesian Air Force One.”