THE middle-aged lady got out of her sedan car at the main entrance of Plaza Indonesia on Thursday last week. She was wearing long trousers, a blue blouse and sports shoes, and was waiting for her friend who was driving a Kijang MPV behind her. “You hang on here. I’m going to park in the basement,” called out her friend.

Don’t jump to the wrong conclusion; this wasn’t a case of two housewives going shopping. The two