When Joko Suprapto was named a suspect last week in a graft case, the news received scant coverage in a nation that for the past year flirted with the idea that he had the answer to the world's energy crisis.
Mr Joko, a villager from Nganjuk in East Java, shot to fame last year after he claimed he had devised a way to make 'crude oil' by separating hydrogen from water. It earned him praise from the country's elite, particularly Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Dr Susilo, eager to find alternative sources of energy to help counter skyrocketing global oil prices, was immediately receptive to the idea and offered his public support. The president was credited with naming the invention 'blue energy', and declared that 'Mr Joko's invention can be Indonesia's gift to the world'.
As tangible proof of his support, Dr Susilo authorised the creation of a special team to further develop Mr Joko's project.
A research centre was built in Cikeas, Bogor, just 3km from Dr Susilo's private residence. The cost of the operation was reportedly 10 billion rupiah (HK$8.5 million).
Mr Joko was also given 1.5 billion rupiah by the Centre for Energy Development and Studies at Yogyakarta's Muhammadiyah University, which late last year agreed to invest in two energy projects and named Mr Joko as the project director.