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By Arlina Arshad
Indonesia will seduce him with food, serenade him with gamelan musical ensembles and shower him with familial warmth, but United States President Barack Obama may disappoint old friends when he visits this week.
Many had hoped the oft-delayed visit would be a sentimental homecoming for Obama but it has been pared down to the diplomatic essentials, with no time for a visit to his old school or a stroll down memory lane with his childhood pals.Instead the president is focusing on the big strategic picture of mending ties with the Muslim world, with a visit to the mainly Muslim's country's biggest mosque and a speech at a prestigious state university.Even so, the symbolism of a long-lost child of the Menteng One primary school in Jakarta returning to his old stomping ground as the most powerful man in the world will be hard to escape."President Obama seems to be missing Indonesian food like nasi goreng and mie bakso, so we'll prepare these at the palace reception," said Julian Aldrin Pasha, a spokesman to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whom Obama will meet on Tuesday."There will also be a traditional dance performance ... We just hope that he'll be happy and comfortable during his stay here."Sonny Imam Sukarso, 49, went to school with Obama in the late 1960s and remembers him as a chubby kid called Barry. He said he hoped the US president would make time to meet his old chums."Obama was my neighbour and elementary schoolmate. We used to play soccer together and visit each other's homes," the lawyer said."We understand his schedule is very tight but hopefully he will want to meet us ... He was a nice and funny person and I hope he hasn't changed."Hopes Obama would bring his wife Michelle to visit the primary school he attended in leafy Menteng from 1967 to 1971 were dashed when the White House announced the schedule.
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