State Elementary School Menteng 01

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SDN Menteng 01
Location
Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia
Coordinates 6°11′55″S 106°49′44″E / -6.198694, 106.828984
Information
Religion Secular
Principal
Vice Principal
Deputy Headmaster		 Kuswadijanto
Akmad Solichin
Hardi Priyono
Enrollment

478
Type Public
Established 1934

State Elementary School Menteng 01 (Indonesian: Sekolah Dasar Negeri (SDN) Menteng 01), also known as SDN Besuki or the Besuki school, is an Indonesian public school in Menteng, Jakarta.

The school is well-known in Indonesia and became famous in the United States as well when former student Barack Obama (1969-1971) announced his candidacy for United States President in 2007.

[edit] History

The school was founded in 1934 by the Dutch colonial administration and was reserved for the children of the Dutch and Indonesian nobility. The Indonesian government took over administration of the school in 1962, and it was then run by the Raden Saleh Foundation. Among its students have been children of Bambang Trihatmodjo, the son of former president Soeharto, as well as the grandchildren of former vice presidents Hamzah Haz and Tri Soetrisno.[1]

[edit] World media attention during Obama's presidential campaign

The Besuki School became the object of American and world-wide media attention when former student Barack Obama announced his candidacy for United States president in January, 2007. Among the media outlets to send reporters to the school were: The Chicago Tribune[2][3], MSNBC[4], and the BBC.[5]

The Besuki School made the headlines in January 2007, when it was wrongly reported as being an Islamic "madrassa" in a story in the American online journal Insight magazine. Insight claimed that "unnamed sources" close to the campaign team of Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for the 2008 United States presidential election, had told them that Clinton's team were planning to spread a smear that her opponent, Barack Obama,[6] had concealed that he attended an Islamic religious school (an Islamic "madrassa")[7][8][9] - supposedly Menteng 01. Obama had correctly described the school in his autobiography as being of mixed religion. The story initially received widespread coverage (specifically on Fox news),[9] but was quickly debunked when CNN,[6] ABC News,[10] and others visited the school and reported that it was and had been public school where each child received two hours of religious instruction per week in his or her own faith.[11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Prodita Sabarini. 2007, January 31. "Impish Obama couldn't sit still, says school pal." The Jakarta Post.
  2. ^ The not-so-simple story of Barack Obama's youth - Go Playing, The White House, Thomas Jefferson - chicagotribune.com
  3. ^ Obama madrassa myth debunked - Religious Education, Barack Obama, The White House - chicagotribune.com
  4. ^ Obama debunks claim about Islamic school - Politics - MSNBC.com
  5. ^ url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7350775.stm
  6. ^ a b "CNN debunks false report about Obama", CNN, 2007-01-23. 
  7. ^ "Hillary's team has questions about Obama's Muslim background", Insight, Jan. 16-22, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-26. 
  8. ^ "Last word: What Insight reported and what it did not (subscription required)", Insight, Feb. 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-25. 
  9. ^ a b Howard Kurtz. 2007, January 23. "Headmaster Disputes Claim That Obama Attended Islamic School." Washington Post.
  10. ^ ABC News: Huge Fuss Over Obama's 'Ordinary' Public School
  11. ^ Obama madrassa myth debunked - Islam, The White House, Barack Obama - chicagotribune.com