Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto caught the attention of netizens for his choice of a modest watch during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, November 11, where they discussed Indonesia-China cooperation.
A post featuring Prabowo’s watch quickly circulated online, gaining praise from social media users, especially after being shared by Channel News Asia’s Instagram account, @channelnewsasia.
“President Prabowo’s ‘affordable’ watch catches netizens’ attention,” read the caption from CNA’s post on Tuesday, November 12.
Unlike other officials who often wear watches worth hundreds of millions of rupiah, Prabowo received praise for his simplicity, choosing a watch priced around one million rupiah (approximately $100 USD), according to the CNA post.
“Prabowo’s English is great. His pronunciation is on point. It looks like he’s wearing a Timex Expedition Scout in green. If that’s true, high-five, Mr. President! I’ve been a fan of Timex since the 1990s. Love the Indiglo feature,” commented a netizen, quoted by CNA.
The watch, consistently seen on Prabowo’s left wrist, even during his presidential inauguration on October 20, has been identified as the Timex Expedition Scout TW4B04700 by the Indonesian watch retailer Machtwatch. On their website, the U.S.-made military-style watch with a green canvas strap is listed for around IDR 1.5 million.
“A true man wears what he likes, not what’s trending. People who follow trends in luxury goods don’t necessarily wear what they truly love—it’s often just for show and doesn’t always serve them day-to-day,” wrote @markviolin in the comments on CNA’s post.
“He seems to have moved beyond worldly things,” added another user, @abdillahsyukri. (RR)
