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Students pose tough questions for Locke
US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke faced tough questions Wednesday from about 60 University of Indonesia (UI) students as he promoted US clean energy technology during a trade mission in Jakarta
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S Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke faced tough questions Wednesday from about 60 University of Indonesia (UI) students as he promoted US clean energy technology during a trade mission in Jakarta.
When Locke suggested that the Indonesian government cut fossil-fuel subsidies to promote competition in clean energy technology, students asked how Indonesian companies would benefit.
Locke said that US companies could create a win-win situation for everybody. Clean energy projects could create a sustainable environment and also create jobs for Indonesian people.
Locke is in Jakarta on a trade mission with 10 US clean energy companies who want to access the Indonesian market. He arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday from China, where the trade mission had the same agenda.
Most of the students were unswayed by Locke’s arguments.
One student said that claims of clean energy might be misleading.
“There is only ‘cleaner’ energy. All energy use may have a negative effect on the environment.”
Locke’s address at UI was part of a series of meetings intended to promote clean and environmentally friendly sources of energy such as wind, geothermal, tidal and solar power.
One question can represent student response to the commerce secretary during the meeting. A student asked why did the US not agree to binding commitments to fight climate change during the Copenhagen meeting if a clean environment was very important to the country.
Some students said that Locke’s visit was a business mission intended to promote US clean energy projects as that country copes with its economic crisis.
“We are skeptical about how clean energy will benefit [Indonesia]. US companies such as Freeport benefit the US more than us,” a student told The Jakarta Post after the discussion session.
Some students said they were impressed with Locke’s background and not his ability to answer tough questions.
“I am surprised that he is from a lowly Chinese immigrant family who managed to make his way up the ladder as a successful official,” said Festus Andrianto Susilo, a student in UI’s medical school.
Locke comes from a poor family and graduated from Yale University with money he earned himself, financial aid and scholarships. His grandfather emigrated from China to Washington and worked as a servant in exchange for English lessons.
Locke is the first Chinese-American commerce secretary. Before his appointment by US President Barack Obama, Locke was Governor of Washington state from 1997 to 2005. Locke is the first and only Chinese-American to be elected Governor of a US state.
“He is very inspirational,” said Teguh Iman Maulana, a student in UI’s School of Economics. “Not all students here come from well-off families and so having him speak to us today is very important,” he said.
“It encourages us to study harder.”
