The power of staying home

WHEN Sri Bintang Pamungkas, one of Indonesia's most vocal opposition politicians, sent out greeting cards at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, he offered more than the traditional requests for forgiveness. The former member of parliament and leader of the unrecognised United Democratic Party called on Indonesians to boycott the May 29th parliamentary general election, reject the re-election of President Suharto in 1998 and prepare for a post-Suharto era.