IT was Thursday, November 7, 2002. The atmosphere at the residence of then President Megawati Sukarnoputri at Jalan Teuku Umar 27 in Central Jakarta was oppressive. A limited cabinet meeting had just been held, to discuss the important issue of releasing bank owners from legal action. Predictably, the debate among the senior government officials was quite fierce.

The Chairman of the National Development Planning Board at that time, Kwik Kian G