Silverbird hunted by Bandung Police

Silverbird hunted by Bandung Police

On Thursday, June 8, I was called to Bandung because of an
emergency. However, it was too late to get a train ticket and I
was reluctant to go to Kampung Rambutan Bus Terminal at night.

Eventually, I decided I would have to use a taxi. I was told
the only taxis allowed to operate outside of Jakarta are
Silverbirds from the Blue Bird group. Despite the cost, I felt it
was my only option and I had to reach Bandung.

During the journey, I talked at length with the driver, who
was friendly and polite. We talked about a lot of subjects, such
as our families and work. He related how he was once robbed by a
passenger who held a screwdriver to his neck. He also told of how
taxi drivers, particularly on the Jakarta-Bandung route, were
often shaken down for money by the police.

I felt confident that it would not happen this time -- I had
been told that Silverbirds are allowed to operate outside of
Jakarta according to a decree dating back to the early 1990s.

It turned out the driver was right.

As we entered Bandung from the Pasteur toll exit, a police
jeep began following us. In front of the Gran Aquila Hotel, we
were pulled over and the driver ordered out. The four police
officers in the jeep -- numbered URC 008 -- paid no attention to
me, never asking me to show my passport or KITAS.

A few moments later, the driver came back and began searching
in the glove compartment of the car. I asked what was going on,
and he told me the police wanted Rp 75,000 before he could
proceed. "Usually, they will settle for Rp 20,000 or Rp 10,000,"
he sighed.

I alighted from the car and asked the police why we had been
stopped. One of them (two of the others looked away, and the
oldest among the group stared at me like I must be from outer
space to question their actions) told me that taxis needed
permits to leave Jakarta. "This isn't Mister's problem, it's
better that you go back to the taxi," he said.

A few minutes later it was all over. The police were willing
to compromise a little and take Rp 50,000, which was equivalent
to more than a third of the argometer. The driver could only give
out another exasperated sigh. He showed me a photocopy of the
decree but said: "It wouldn't matter if I showed it to them, they
don't care."

As an expatriate who has lived in Indonesia for about 10
years, including periods in high school and university exchange
programs, I was outraged by the incident, which only confirms the
tarnished image of the Indonesian Police. It seems the officers
consider their main duty is to drive around preying on people
trying to earn an honest living, while the real criminals get
away with murder. It's an open secret that Bandung has a serious
drug problem (hang around the main shopping mall BIP for a few
minutes and see for yourself), but perhaps this is not on the
police's agenda of priorities in fighting crime.

At any rate, the polite and conscientious taxi driver now has
another tale to tell of being "robbed".

BRUCE E.

Jakarta