Manohara attends Golkar meeting, looking to politics

Manohara seen here waving to reporters in Jakarta - Reuters pic

PEKANBARU, Oct 9 — The Golkar Party convention was already the scene of a lot of fuss and drama — but when teenage model Manohara Odelia Pinot turned up, some party members were reportedly more interested in posing for photographs with the soap opera star than listening to the committee read the convention results.

Manohara jetted in to the party’s convention, being held in Pekanbaru, Riau, yesterday evening, apparently on invitation.

“I came here by invitation. Hopefully someday I can go into politics,” the model told the press.

Upon her arrival, a number of Golkar party members approached Manohara and asked to pose for pictures with her. According to detik.com, the photo session took place while the convention committee was reading the results from the four day party gathering.

Manohara also denied rumours that her interest in politics was actually a personal interest in a certain aspiring politician — Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of fomer President Suharto.

“It’s not true, I only met Mas Tommy when we bumped into each other,” she said.

Tommy was defeated in Golkar’s leadership race during the conference, failing to secure any votes. Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie won the ballot, taking over leadership of the troubled party.

If Manohara wants to pursue a political career, she may have to keep practicing her Indonesian. After growing up overseas, Manohara has difficulty speaking her mother tongue.

But the model told the press last week that she had adopted a rather unusual way to study the language — by reading the backs of shampoo bottles.

“For vocabulary, people have suggested I read the newspaper. But sometimes I read anything like shampoo bottles or mineral water bottles as long as it can improve my Indonesian,” she said.

Apparently, Mano’s unusual study regime is reaping results.

“It used to be difficult for me to say a complicated or long word, such as any word ending with the (sound) ‘ng’, but now I can do it,” she added.

Manohara has also been working on improving her acting, which may come in handy if she decides to take part in any political charades.

“I feel more comfortable in front of the camera,” she said. “I used to be awkward because I was confused with the angles and the blocking but now, I act more naturally.” — Jakarta Globe