You would not be likely to read such a banner now but even back in 1971 it and its red ink had a distinct tone of sarcasm to them. "Dead or alive support Suharto" read the banner at Jalan Cendana, the Central Jakarta road that the strongman had already made his home and power base.

This student rally had nothing to do with ‘Reformasi’. It was part of the "Movement for Economizing People's Money". They were protesting about plans to build