THE quake that shook Bantul, two Saturdays ago, threw the Regency of the Yogyakarta Special Region back to zero. More than 5,000 lives have been lost, tens of thousands of buildings razed to the ground and peoples industries and traditional markets paralyzed. This situation has thrown the 56-year-old Regent of Bantul, Muhammad Idham Samawi into a state of gloom.

Before the tragedy struck, Bantul was an area that was recognized for its agricultu