It was hard for guests at a function in the village of Kemusuk, in the Sleman regency of Yogyakarta, to refuse the offer of a local specialty. That afternoon—December 3, 1997—saw former President Suharto offering a childhood favorite, tiwul, to his visitors. It indeed looked stylish served on beautifully decorated dishes on teakwood tables at the presidential residence.

Suharto savored every mouthful of the dish—dried cassava