A Simple Life

MPR Speaker Hidayat Nurwahid has refused an official Volvo car. Could this moral campaign spread outside Senayan?

October 19, 2004

IN the 1980s, President Suharto proclaimed a Movement for a Simple Life. Several catchphrases were born, like tighten your belts, return to traditional food, avoid parties and the like. Pak Harto banned civil servants from holding wedding receptions in hotels. The First Lady, Ibu Tien Suharto, called on wives of state officials not to show off their wealth. These Ibu Dharma Wanita, as these wives were known, were given simple uniforms and to

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