LIKE a cup of ginseng coffee? he asked me with a smile. I chose mineral water. The room was more like the office of a cooperative in a small town in Java. Simple and unadorned, unbefitting the man who offered me the drink: Prof Dr Muchtar Ahmad MSc, Rector of Riau University.

Suddenly I realized I had not taken off my shoes on entering the room. Sorry, I blurted haltingly. Oh, never mind, Muchtar smiled as he stirred his cup of ginseng coffee. F