Family says horror bus driver a 'good guy'
Family says horror bus driver a 'good guy'
By Ahyani
BANDUNG (JP): Looking into Salam's face is like looking into a
pool of sorrow and confusion. All of a sudden he and his family
have come under public scrutiny because his son-in-law, Agus
Arifin, caused the deaths of 31 people.
Many people, even complete strangers, have come to his simple
abode since the tragic accident last Saturday.
Agus was the driver of the Kramatdjati bus which smashed into
a Toyota jeep, leading 31 people to horrific deaths.
"Agus cares a lot about his wife and daughter," Salam told
reporters.
Agus married Rusmini, in 1992, and has an eight-month-old
daughter.
Salam, a becak (three-wheel pedicab) driver, said that Agus
showers his family with love and affection every time he has a
chance to come home.
"Usually, he comes home once every three days, gives his wife
some money and collects some clean clothes before going back to
work," he said.
Agus does not have a fixed salary. When he returns home, he
could bring with him between Rp 75,000 and Rp 100,000 (US$33 to
$44).
"The money he earns depends on the number of passengers he
carries. I don't know exactly how much he earns," Salam said.
Agus has worked for the Kramatdjati bus company for two
months. He previously worked for three bus companies, Sahabat, JS
and Dwi Karya, which served the Bandung-Cirebon route. Agus was
once employed as a chauffeur.
When he was with the Dwi Karya company, he was named as the
company's best driver.
Salam said Agus does not talk much.
"He is quiet and talks only when necessary. I don't know what
he is like outside the home, but when he is at home, he never
takes liquor or pills like the newspapers reported," he said.
As our conversation continued, Salam said that his daughter is
Agus' second wife.
"His first wife, who was from Jatiwangi, Cirebon, died. Agus
has a child from his first marriage, who is now living with his
grandparents in Jatiwangi," Salam said.
He added that as Agus covers the Bandung-Cirebon route, he
often stops by to see his son.
Salam remembered a time when Agus could not return home as
there were many passengers wanting transport.
"He told a bus conductor to bring the money home," he said.
At that time the family was in bad need of money and his wife
had to pawn their daughter's jewelry, which the family bought as
an investment. With the money, his wife retrieve the jewelry from
the pawnbroker.
Salam has seven children. Rusmini is the sixth. Some of
Salam's children work in Kalimantan, West Timor and Cirebon.
One of Salam's children, Dede Supriyadi, is a construction
worker in Bandung. He lives with his parents, Agus and Rusmini
and their daughter in a small stuffy house in an alley of Jl.
Embong.
Rusmini, 26, and Intan, her daughter, have been in Bogor since
Wednesday.
"She said she had to go there for police' questioning and to
see Agus, who is in police detention," he said, showing the
warrant for Agus' arrest.
The warrant was signed by Major Wahyu Suhendra of the Bogor
police.
Salam said Agus' detention is in God's hands.
There is one thing that confuses him: many people are offering
him legal aid.
"There is one person who said he'd been appointed by the
police to defend Agus. I know nothing about law and I have no
money to hire any lawyer," he said, showing a number of name
cards left by lawyers who came to his house.
Salam expressed regret that Kramatdjati did not send an
employee to his house to tell him about the accident.
"I learned about it from other people, the TV and journalists
who came here," he said before showing reporters the door, as he
had to leave for work with his becak.
The family's life will probably never be the same. Salam, his
daughter and granddaughter may have to bear the brunt of so many
people's fury, people whose loved ones either perished or are
traumatized by their ordeal. The family will carry the burden of
being related to a man who caused the terrible deaths of so many
people.