Indonesia looks to past glories in replica monuments

Reinvention of medieval palace hints at new president's grand vision for the past

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Suitably heroic animals emblazon the front of the building that contains the main function room at the replica Majapahit Palace. (All photos by Joseph Rachman)

JOSEPH RACHMAN, Contributing writer

What is the former head of Indonesia's intelligence agency doing building a replica of a medieval Javanese palace in a south Jakarta suburb?

When we sat down at the site of his creation A.M. Hendropriyono was keen to enlighten me. The aim of this project -- which to me felt a little like a small Indonesian version of Caesar's Palace, a luxury hotel and casino in Las Vegas -- was nothing less than the moral regeneration of the nation.

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