Guess What? Hidayat Jaelani

After State Minister of Tourism and the Arts Hidayat Jaelani's opening blurb, the head of the organizing committee was left to explain the details:

"Through this event we will highlight and showcase the breadth of traditional music in all 27 provinces of Indonesia."

The hacks and committee members at the media conference smiled at her mistake. "Don't you mean 26 Mbak?" some of them called out. The minister stepped in to her rescue. "She is right everyone. Indonesia now has 27 provinces. We've lost one but we've also gained one" he said. What? "How about Maluku. It has been divided into two," he quipped to laughs all around.

The occasion of the minister's spot-on if black humor was a media conference to promote the Techno Ethnic Music Expo 2000, a musical extravaganza involving five groups from five continents on one Jakarta stage (and plenty of Indonesian ethnic music as well). Not until next November, but something to look forward to nevertheless.

Later on it was the minister's turn to make a mistake. The head of the committee was announcing the groups who were coming, one of which is from Spain. The minister piped in saying that was his idea. Why? "Because keroncong 'kan comes from Spain so a country is being represented who has a shared heritage with Indonesia." Oops.

A concerned aide rushed over to him and explained that keroncong actually originated in Portugal. Anyone can make a mistake, right?. (Chris Brummitt)