N

ov. 12, p2

As ethnic Javanese, both President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono adhere to the profound norms of the Javanese culture that emphasize the need to compromise and to avoid getting too directly to the point.

But when it comes to diplomacy, the two men have taken very different approaches. While Yudhoyono often refused to be straightforward during bilateral meetings, Jokowi is doing the opposite.

Although he still speaks in a soft tone, Jokowi has demonstrated the courage to be direct in his recent conversations with leaders of the world'€™s powerhouse nations: Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Your comments:

Yes Mr. President, you are the man! This is great! '€œWe don'€™t want to enter into any discussions on free trade deals. We don'€™t want to open up unless there is something we can gain,'€ '€” otherwise what'€™s the point?

Ivan Fukuoka

Good job Mr. Jokowi, you can achieve our goals.

Febri Ariyadi

It'€™s a good start by ex-furniture exporter President Jokowi on which side he should position himself when it comes to business deals. A very good start in the G20 arena; let'€™s see how the domestic businessmen respond.

Arman Yahya Onthego

We wish you, honorable President, the best and we are sure that under your guidance our nation will rise.

Wadata

I quote: '€œMany of our commodities, such as rattan, palm oil and fish, have fallen victim to trade restrictions [...] and are products of small companies and farmers.'€

Oh really?  So it is small farmers who burned millions of hectares of forest in Kalimantan and Indonesia and replaced them with those filthy, ecological deserts known as palm oil plantations? I think not.

Rusty Nails

Thanks to Mr. Joko Widodo. I hope you can understand better what it is that people want in the future.

Nga Bunga Biru

There is no such thing as straightforward speaking in Javanese culture, unless one has closely evaluated the situation before speaking and had already concluded that it'€™s the best course of action without being overly brash or bold.

Fussion B
 
Mr. President you are so cool. I like your style. It is excellent!

Tolato Naja

Thanks to the President of Indonesia, the country can derive some respect on the international stage.  If the education, health, public works, communications and rural development follows suit, Indonesians will see better days ahead. Again, big thanks to Joko Widodo.

Ram Singha

Well done '€” direct speech will prove fruitful in international forums. It also marks the stamp of a self-assured leader who isn'€™t afraid. I think Jokowi did well on his first outing.

Terry McAsee

I know Jokowi is a breath of fresh air in terms of his direct talk, but he is woefully uninformed when it comes to important matters like this. It'€™s quite embarrassing actually. CPO production isn'€™t the cause of deforestation in Kalimantan.

The cause for that was illegal logging in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But now those wastelands are used for CPO plantations by the same people who cut down the forest.

Do your research Jokowi. You are the President of Indonesia for crying out loud.

Jacen