THE clock in the middle room of the house at Jalan Teuku Umar, Central Jakarta, where Chairperson of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soekarnoputri, was meeting with leading members of the party last week seemed to suddenly stop. The hands of the clock were nearing 8pm when Megawati snapped “Pak Sabam, please leave and enjoy refreshments out there.”

The tone of Megawati’s voice stunned Sabam Sirait, a co-founder of