It gets worse. The Indonesian Supreme Court issued a surprise ruling overturning last year’s corruption conviction of Tommy Suharto, the former dictator’s youngest son. Megawati had vowed to crack down on corruption and reform the court system, but the Suharto decision leaves her well-meaning words in tatters. “This ruling goes to show how helpless she is,” says one Western diplomat in Jakarta. “Money, threats and fear still rule.”
