Yudhoyono to address G-20 summit in Indonesian

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 04/01/2009 10:14 AM  |  World

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono intends to deliver his speech in Indonesian at the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G-20) summit, because other heads of state/government have chosen to speak in their respective native languages, Antara reports.


German chancellor Angela Merkel would speak in German, French president Nikolas Sarkozy would speak in French, Brazilian President Lula da Silva would speak in Portuguese, Chinese president Hu Jintao would speak in Chinese and South Korean president Lee Myung-bak would speak in Korean, Yudhoyono told reporters at the JW Marriott Hotel in London on Tuesday evening.
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"But if I speak in Indonesian rather than English, US president Barack Obama will probably be the only one who understands," Yudhoyono said with a chuckle.

Yudhoyono is in London to attend the summit of the G-20, a meeting of 19 of the worlds largest national economies, plus the EU. The grouping represents member states Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Britain, the United States and South Korea, as well as the European Union.

On Wednesday, the President is scheduled to meet with Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, British duke of York Prince Andrew, Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, and British crown Prince Charles.

He will later attend a reception to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckhingham Palace, and a dinner for G-20 members to be hosted by British prime minister Gordon Brown. (dre)

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Machdoem — Thu, 04/02/2009 - 7:01am

Dear BOSS…..

I was the person most nationalist...
Can be proud when talking in front of the forum use my own language
But….What's the point if other people I talk to , do not understand what I mean, even though the translators have done so ... Lesson directly from you will get more attention from the other delegations and they certainly prefer to communicate directly with you, because you all speaking the same language ... Do not forget Boss….. opportunity to speak in front of the world Leaders does not come every day. Use this opportunity to truly be able to offer opportunities and problem that we have. I believe you have the skill and expertise in this field.... we all believe, prefer to hear the original sound from “ film “ than in the translated or subtitle .Once again... I am so proud of the Indonesian language, but I have more pride in Leaders who are able direct dialogue with the other Leaders of the world without any intermediaries. Don’t forget they are all busy people. Make it everything simple and avoid bureaucracy. Now is the global recession. Discussed, make decisions and take action... Good luck to you to bring our voice in the world forum

machdoem

Iain — Wed, 04/01/2009 - 1:16pm

I really wish Indonesian leaders would stop referring to foreign countries to excuse something they want to.

I really wish Indonesian leaders would refer to other countries when saying "I'd like to provide free education" "I want to have clean and safe streets".

If Yudhoyono wants to speak in Indonesian, then speak in Indonesian. These forums have translators. But if it is just a case of national pride, and most leaders will be less interested in listening to SBY, then he will have to decide what is most important... national pride or having an effect on the global economic situation.

Dikki (not verified) — Wed, 04/01/2009 - 10:43am

Dear Pak Presiden,
if you do to speech in Bahasa Indonesia, it shall be better than the community in the world caould know. you are expert in english, Bahasa Indonesia etc. try to speech in etnics language than they will know Indonesian have the other languages inside Bahasa Indonesia. I have given the appreciated for your ideas.

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