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strong>Nov. 11, p2

Remembering his childhood in Jakarta in the late 1960s, US President Barack Obama shared a light moment with President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and First Lady Iriana as they sat side-by-side during a dinner for leaders attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Monday evening.

Your comments:

Barack Obama used to live in Menteng, Jakarta. In some ways, Indonesia has a little similarity to the United States. Indonesia is almost as big as the US both in territory and population.

The US Independence Day, July 4, inspired founding president Sukarno to establish his own Indonesia National Party (PNI) '€“ now the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) '€” on July 4, 1927. Indonesia'€™s governmental system also follows the US: presidential.

The US is the most democratic country, while Indonesia is well-known as the fourth biggest democratic country in the world. The US has experienced democracy for hundreds of years, while Indonesia began its democracy after ending the dictatorship in 1998.

One thing that makes Indonesian democracy proud is that the country once had a female president, Megawati. During the chatting over dinner in Beijing, President Jokowi should have asked President Obama: '€Mr. President, when will the US have a female president?'€

Resi Adiyasa