Obama on private holiday in Indonesia

JAKARTA: Former United States President Barack Obama flew into the resort island of Bali Friday night on a family holiday trip to Indonesia.

Local online media quoted Bali Police spokesman Hengky Widjaja as saying that Obama and his family came to the island in a private aircraft.

He said the visitors were staying at a leading hotel in Ubud and wanted to have a private holiday although security measures are akin to that accorded to a dignitary.

Obama and his family reportedly will be in Bali until June 28 before going to Yogyakarta and concluding their visit in Jakarta on July 2.

In Jakarta, the 44th president of the United States is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the 4th Congress of Indonesian Diaspora on July 1.

The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Indonesian Diaspora Network Global (IDNG), Dino Patti Djalal, was quoted as saying that Obama’s address at the opening session of the congress would be his first official speech in Asia after retiring as the US president.

He said Obama had a special relationship with Indonesia and was an inspiration for the Indonesian community and diaspora. The former US president had lived in Jakarta for four years, from 1967 to 1971, having accompanied his mother and stepfather to Indonesia.

He had even attended primary school in Jakarta prior to returning to Honolulu to live with his grandmother.

Meanwhile, presidential special staff for communication Johan Budi Saptopribowo said Indonesian President Joko Widodo would host a dinner for Obama at the Bogor Presidential Palace on June 30. — Bernama