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