STARTING out as a street contractor worker, Johanes Kennedy Aritonang is now known as a business tycoon with a turnover of hundreds of billions of rupiah. The fortunes of the man born in the North Sumatra regency of North Tapanuli 46 years ago skyrocketed like a meteor since 1990.

The 200 hectares of land in the Muka Kuning area of Batam that he controls, was transformed from a forest into an industrial area and trade complex. It was here he bui