AS a soldier, Sutiyoso is well versed in maintaining image. He smiles, he laughs, but everything seems measured, giving the impression that it's hard to make jokes with him. At his office in the National Monument (Monas) area of Jakarta, he's known as the governor who rarely cracks jokes.

However, when he officiated at the ceremony marking the completion of the Hotel Indonesia (HI) roundabout's renovation at the end of last June, that impress