Riding the Corruption Express
Indonesia has been listed as one of the world's most corrupt countries, a label that the experience I will share with you will corroborate.
Graft cases adorn the front pages of the print media almost every day. Unfortunately, corruption on the train has not attracted much of the media's attention, although this practice could endanger hundreds of train passengers. For just Rp 2,000 you can ask to be dropped of at the train station of your choosing. One piece of advice, though. Never let the engineer know you are a "novice".
I had a unique experience with this small form of graft on May 23, when I took the Pakuan express train that plies the Gambir- Bogor route. It happened 38 days before the fatal train crash near the Pasar Minggu railway station when three electric trains collided into one another. I have a suspicion that the lead train in this crash, which was reportedly stationary at the time of the incident, was dropping off some passengers -- not at the right station, mind you.
At the time I was planning to attend a rehearsal for the play Sobrat at WS Rendra's Bengkel Teater in Cipayung, Depok. Dudi, a friend of mine and a member of the drama group, suggested that I get off the train at Citayam station and then take a motorcycle taxi to the theater.
When I took the Pakuan train, I did not know that unlike regular trains that stop at every station along the Gambir-Bogor route, the Pakuan only stops in Bogor and Gambir. On Saturdays and Sundays, it also makes a brief stop at the University of Indonesia station.
Because I was unfamiliar with the stations, when the Pakuan made a brief stop at the University of Indonesia station I approached the conductor and told him that I wanted to get off at Citayam. "Move to the front coach," the middle-aged conductor said somewhat mysteriously.
I complied. The train stopped briefly several times before it reached Citayam. I wondered why the doors remained closed when it stopped. The same thing happened at Citayam station, where I was supposed to exit the train.
Depressed, I decided to enjoy the trip to Bogor, the final destination for the Pakuan. I waited at the Bogor station for almost two hours before my Pakuan began to chug back to Gambir in Jakarta.
I was overwhelmed with despair because I did not know which route to take to reach Rendra's theater.
So, when the Pakuan was heading back to Jakarta, I decided to move from the rear coach to the front one. Again I asked the conductor at which stations the train would stop. He said it would not stop until it reached Gambir. After that, it would stop at Kota station, its final destination.
I saw several passengers knocking on the door separating the passengers from the train driver. Very quickly they were let into the engineer's compartment. I learned they wanted to exit the train before Gambir. I tried knocking on the door myself, hoping to get dropped at Citayam. "May I come in, sir?" I said to the conductor, who, instead of replying, hurriedly closed the door. All I could do was watch Citayam station get farther and farther away.
With nothing to lose, I fell into line behind three passengers approaching the engineer's compartment. I saw them fish out some money from their pockets. "How much?" I asked. One of them replied, "Only two thousand."
This time I did not bother to ask if I could come in. I knocked on the door and hurried in when it opened. I shoved two Rp 1,000 banknotes into the hand of the man who opened the door, who wore the uniform of an employee of the communications ministry. He asked me where I wanted to stop.
"We cannot stop right at the station. It is not allowed," he said.
The train stopped about 500 meters before the Manggarai station and I got off.
Walking along the railway track, I heaved a heavy sigh: "For the sake of a few Rp 1,000 banknotes, the engineer is more than ready to bring the train to a halt in the middle of the track." And the possibility of a train collision suddenly struck me.
Corruption is not the sole domain of white-collar workers. Even train crews have a few tricks to make a little extra money using the tools at their disposal, in this case a locomotive.
--Blontank Poer