"AS of late this afternoon support for the interpellation motion has reached 224,” said Maruarar Sirait, half shouting in an attempt to overcome the noise. Kwik Kian Gie, Dradjad Wibowo, Chandra Tirta Wijaya, Lily Wahid and Andi Rahmat, who were sitting to the left and right of Maruarar at the speaker’s podium, smiled broadly.

The press room at the House of Representatives (DPR) in Senayan, Jakarta, was in an uproar on Thursday last week. Man