President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono often used English terminology while communicating to his ministers, the press and even the public. The same can’t be said for President Joko Widodo in his term so far.
During the first cabinet meeting between Jokowi and his ministers at the State Palace on Monday, not a single word from the English language was uttered by Jokowi. His words were spoken strictly in Bahasa Indonesia, short and concise.
In the meeting, Jokowi welcomed the 34 newly appointed ministers and urged them to get to work.
Jokowi’s ability to speak English came under question during the presidential elections, when the man who was born in Solo was compared to Prabowo Subianto, who spent much of his life abroad. This video compared the two presidential candidates’ English proficiency:
We’re of the opinion that a leader should not be judged on his or her ability to speak a foreign language. If we did, translators around the country would be limited to translating movie subtitles. Besides, Jokowi’s English isn’t actually too shabby, as this longer interview with Australia’s ABC News shows:
Source: Berita Satu
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