The Invisible Palace: The True Story of a Journalist's Murder in Java

by José Manuel Tesoro

ONE AUGUST NIGHT IN 1996 , on a rural highway in Java, an investigative journalist was beaten to death by unknown assailants. Two months later, police arrested a high-school drop-out and put him on trial for the reporter's murder. One the accused killer had never met his alleged victim. Entwined in local rivalries, media intrigues, and the long-held beliefs of many Javanese in fate, myth and magic, the killing of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin spawned an unprecedented criminal investigation, a gripping courtroom drama and a nationwide controversy that signaled the iron rule of Indonesia's longtime president, Suharto, was ending. Researched and written over two years from confidential documents, court records and exclusive interviews with police, investigators, lawyers, witnesses and survivors, this unique account reconstructs the legal and political drama surrounding one of Indonesia's most famous unsolved murders. Combining journalism, travel writing and true crime, The Invisible Palace is an engrossing and deeply described study of media, politics and justice in the contemporary developing world. JOSÉ MANUEL TESORO was Jakarta correspondent for Asiaweek magazine from 1997 to 2000. Born in Manila, he has lived and traveled widely in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, reporting for Asiaweek , Wired , East and The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Genres: Asia, Journalism

328 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is about the murder of a journalist in Jogja. The case has been considered as dark number since the real murderer have never been found. The police complicated the investigation as one officer threw out all the evidence left to the sea to seek for superstitious clues.

It's interesting how a foreign journalist like Jose Manuel Tesoro traced back the case and tried to open the case layer by layer. Tesoro was working for AsiaWeek and ow is working as lawyer in Washington DC.

[Jens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Invisible palace is a book about the event around the murder of the Journalist Udin in jogyakarta, it is a thrilling book and yet it is sad to see how bad a land works when it is based on corruption and superstition.

[Enrico · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good first book by my friend Joel, ex AsiaWeek correspondent, about the murder of Udin of Bernas. And the illustrations are by me...

[Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that well written the book was funded by The Ford Foundation. Fascinating confirmation of what many have suspected about the murder of Yogya journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin in 1996

[Retno Nindya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Personally, this book didn't go with facts only but also with some folklore, myths and urban legends. Very very interesting.