JULY 1998. The general chairman of Golkar, Akbar Tandjung, who had just been elected at the partys extraordinary national conference that year, caused a stir. At a press conference he uttered the words that had been eagerly awaited by many people. Golkar formally asked the forgiveness of the nation for its past mistakes. Akbar not only spoke slowly, as he normally does, but also gave the impression of sincere regret.

The rest is a matter of histor