HE came from a broken family. After his father left home, his mother found a new husband. Together with his brothers and sisters, Dulmatin—who was only 5 at the time—moved to the Arab village in Pemalang city, Central Java. “They decided to go and live with their grandfather, Raden Rahmat Haji Sovie,” said Abu Bakar, Dulmatin’s uncle.

Dulmatin’s grandfather owned large tracts of agricultural land, plantations and a number of performa