R

enowned historian Peter Kasenda was found dead at his house in the Jatikramat Indah Sari Gaperi housing complex in Bekasi, West Java, on Monday. He reportedly had been dead for a few days.

News of the death of the writer, who wrote several books on Sukarno, circulated on WhatsApp on Monday. Peter’s neighbor, Olly Ganjar, shared the news saying, “Today, the residents of Jatikramat Indah Sari Gaperi — where I live — have lost one of their neighbors named Peter Kasenda, a historian who was also a lecturer at a number of private universities in Jakarta. One of them is Bung Karno University.”

Peter, a University of Indonesia alumnus, lived on his own. According to Olly, he was found by the neighborhood unit (RT) head who had smelled something bad. When the unit head broke into the house to find the source of the smell, he discovered Peter’s body instead.

Peter’s colleagues in WhatsApp group “Sejarah84+SKJ” said they had had a hunch about Peter’s death. The historian, who used to sending morning greetings every day, had stopped greeting them on Sept. 5, tempo.co reported.

A colleague, Mulat Wigati, showed Peter’s last post on Sept. 4. He posted a picture of Kauman Mosque in Yogyakarta. “This is the last ‘good morning’ greeting from Peter,” Mulat said as quoted by tempo.co.