ON Hijriyah (Islamic) new year’s day last week, all government offices were closed down, but not on the third floor of one building located at Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta. There, it was work as usual, on that Thursday, except that employees dressed informally, no ties, no shoes—just T-shirts and sandals.

The building used to be the Office of the State Minister for State-Owned Enterprises. Today, it is the headquarters of the Capital Ma