AT the age of 69, Asahan Aidit still looks hale and hearty. Despite the bone-piercing cold autumn air, he greeted Tempo warmly at the side of a street. Then he led the way to where he lived, at Hoofddorp, an area outside of Schiphol, in The Netherlands.

The semi-detached house he has lived in since 1984 is typical of the neighborhood. Sen, his Vietnamese-born wife was out of the house. The loud ticking of a clock sounded like a reminder of time