If Mohammad Hatta were still alive, we would be celebrating his 99th birthday this week. We can imagine that instead of a party with music and dancing, there would perhaps be a seminar or the launch of a book on a weighty topic. There would be a high level of interest among the public because a serious theme that was an obsession of Hatta is very relevant to the current situation: democracy in our nation.

And Hatta would appear with his usual re