THE end of August. What the Javanese call bediding—the transition from the rainy season to the dry season—came late. The afternoon chill blew on the slopes of Mount Merapi as we arrived at Omah Petroek. A six-meter-tall statue of Sukarno greeted us imposingly. The monument was inaugurated two days earlier by his daughter, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, in a modest but lively event.

It was a meaningful ceremony. Omah Pe