A WHITE house in Gempol hamlet, Jombang, East Java was no longer occupied. The only things left inside were two bamboo beds and a dresser filled with stacks of termite-ridden books. “Timung lived here from the age of 7 months until he graduated from high school,” said Suarti, on Tuesday last week.

Timung is Suarti’s nickname for her nephew, Commissioner-General Timur Pradopo. According to her, Timur, the eldest of seven siblings born to th