Jakarta – The surprise appearance of Indonesia's House speaker at a Donald Trump campaign event in New York on Thursday has spawned a torrent of questions back at home, but perhaps none as beguiling as that surrounding the purported $140,000 watch seen fleetingly on his wrist.
Setya Novanto stunned fellow politicians and the Indonesian public alike when he was brought up to the podium and shook hands with Trump, in a fawning appearance that members of the House of Representatives in Jakarta condemned as unethical because it could be perceived as an explicit endorsement by Indonesia of Trump's presidential bid.
Fellow politicians have vowed to launch an ethics probe against the House speaker and his deputy, Fadli Zon, who was also at the event at Trump Tower, while questions are being asked about the more than Rp 4.6 billion ($325,000) in taxpayer money used to fund the legislators' trip to the United States.
For Setya, the PR firestorm has also homed in on the gold watch that flashed briefly from beneath his shirt cuff as he shook Trump's hand. Some on Twitter have identified the timepiece as a Swiss-made Richard Mille RM 011 Flyback Chronograph "Rose Gold", which luxury watch aficionado online forums and sellers list at 92,500 pounds ($140,000) brand new and upward of $100,000 used.
House members earn around $55,700 a year, and also receive various allowances for housing and transportation. Setya could not be reached for comment on his watch.
Richard Mille timepieces appear to be a favorite of top Indonesian officials, with the former military commander, Moeldoko, also photographed wearing one of the Swiss watches, an RM 011 Felipe Massa Flyback Chronograph "Black Kite", with a reported price tag of above $100,000. Only 45 of the timepieces were produced for the Asia region.
Moeldoko later claimed, rather proudly, that the watch was a counterfeit and that he had a large collection of fake watches.