Rough justice

Dozens of ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers pummelled, stripped and dragged Musa, using a motorcycle. Musa died immediately. They were furious with Musa, who had allegedly stolen a motorcycle belonging to Samit, one of the ojek drivers, who had their base of operations in Pekayon, Bekasi.

On the same day, ojek drivers in Bogor beat and burned to death Ahmad Komaruddin. Like Musa, Komaruddin was accused of stealing a motorcycle belonging to one of the ojek drivers.

In contrast to the fate of the two suspected thieves, David Nusa Widjaya, a banker who embezzled Rp 1.29 trillion in Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI), has been sentenced to only one year's imprisonment. Djoko Tjandra, a prime suspect in the abuse of Rp 504.6 billion in the Bank Bali deviation case, has been free from punishment.

In the same case, Bank Indonesia Governor Syahril Sabirin has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment, although the misused funds have been returned.

The court decisions on the corruption cases involving David and Djoko are only a small part of legal proceedings in Indonesia. They have become a symbol of legal absurdity. It is really absurd, because those guilty of stealing fowl or flip- flops are tried quickly and jailed for two months.

The ojek drivers are probably ignorant of the law, but they do have a sense of justice, which means they no longer have any confidence in an effective legal system. They regard street justice as the right way of dispensing justice. That is their own way of upholding law enforcement. They are the judges in their own justice system, as other versions are no longer considered reliable.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta