The get-together in the Bima Room at Hotel Bidakara, South Jakarta, on Wednesday night two weeks ago was filled with desultory conversation. The politicians started off talking oil and gas management that did not violate the constitution. Halfway through the four-hour gathering, however, their conversations turned to corruption scandals, regional autonomy, the soybean cartel and even the subject of Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo.

Opened with a din