THE dinner at the headquarters of Bank Indonesia at Kebon Sirih in Central Jakarta early in January was unusual. The occasion, normally just for bankers, was also attended by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister for the State-Owned Enterprises Sugiharto and National Development Planning Board Chairman Paskah Suzetta.

Apparently an important message was to be conveyed by Burhanuddin Abdullah, governor of the central bank. That night Abd