Who can lead the world? Indonesia. At least that was what visiting UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in his speech delivered before university students and lecturers on Thursday morning.

Visiting Indonesia for the first time since he became prime minister in May 2010, he occasionally used Indonesian in his address at the Al Azhar University in South Jakarta.

For emphasis, Cameron repeated the sentence “Indonesia mampu memimpin dunia” (Indonesia can lead the world) six times, to highlight Indonesia’s challenges against “authoritarian leaders”, “corrupt elites”, “extremists” and “tribalists” — the latter referring to those “who threaten democracy” through discrimination based on different backgrounds, race, ethnicity or religion.

Dressed in a black suit and purple tie, he started his address with the Muslim greeting Assalamualaikum (peace be with you), similar

to what US President Barack Obama had done in his speech before students of the University of Indonesia in 2010.

“Selamat pagi [good morning], Assalamualaikum … right now, this country — your country — is one of the most exciting and dynamic places on the planet. You have made it that way. Saya salut dengan anda

[I salute you],” he said as the audience clapped.

In his two-day visit here with a large delegation of business executives and academics, Cameron, 45, repeatedly praised Indonesia for its capability to shift “from dictatorship to democracy”, citing the government’s capability to improve the country’s economy.

He said nowadays, Indonesians could freely speak, write and publish their concerns. Indonesians now can even tweet in a country “where people now use Twitter more intensively than in any other nation on the planet”.

According to SalingSilang, which focuses on Internet analysis, as of September 2011, Indonesians were the world’s most active Twitter users, with a daily average of 1.29 million tweets.

He added that Indonesia, which has the world’s biggest Muslim population, is a primary example of where both religion and democracy can live side by side.

The prime minister said young Muslims in countries such as Egypt and Syria should follow Indonesia’s example.

Cameron brought the audience’s memories back to the 2002 Bali bombing attacks, which claimed 202 lives including 38 Indonesians.

He implied that his country was also devastated by the incident, which claimed 28 Britons, including a brother of his colleague in the Conservative Party.

“The attack on Bali was an attack on the world and it taught us just how the security of our countries is now so inevitably intertwined,” he said, drawing comparisons between the 2002 Bali bombings and the London public transportation attack in 2005.

He applauded Indonesia for rising from the ashes despite the attack, saying the country proved that it is “possible to develop a democracy and a modern economy that neither compromises people’s security nor their ability to practice their religion”.

Cameron also praised the work of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), saying corruption “denies the people their economic and political stake — the citizenship, the job and the voice that they want”.

“In taking on and defeating the scourge of corruption … Indonesia mampu memimpin dunia. Assalamualaikum,” he said, ending his speech. (asa)

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