[b]SBY's visit to India

SBY's visit to India

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's (SBY's) visit to India
had both positive and negative aspects to it. On the one hand, it
was reported that SBY's visit marked the opening of a new chapter
in the relationship between the two countries (The Jakarta Post,
Nov. 24, in which several key business, technology and defense
agreements have been sealed with optimism, particularly on the
part of Indonesian side.

On the other hand, during SBY's visit to Indian software giant
infosys Technologies Ltd., following his speech to executives of
the company in a question-and-answer session with them, an
"unwanted" occurrence took place when Minister of Industry Andung
Nitimiharja raised a question. Unfortunately his English was a
muddle, making the executives visibly perplexed, and the audience
was silent for a long, uncomfortable moment (the Post, Nov. 23).

Earlier, the President hinted at the possible minor shakeup of
his Cabinet, meaning only one or two of his ministers would be
replaced. But, as to this, we can only wait and see.

As far as mastery of English is concerned, proficiency in the
language should have been tested when ministerial candidates were
screened, as this is a prerequisite for someone engaged in global
cooperation. This would also have saved the President from the
"embarrassment" in India.

M. RUSDI
Jakarta