The common good

Your report on Paying for solitude reminds me of similar events that have been occurring in Jakarta, because of traffic arrangements and some folks clever enough to eye a windfall from somebody else's inconvenience.

Every day at a certain time, usually during the morning rush hour, a policeman will prevent cars coming from Jl. Gatot Subroto to make a left turn north onto Jl. Sudirman, so that these cars choose to enter the Hilton Hotel on Jl. Gatot Subroto, pay a Rp 500 parking fee, then exit from the other parking gate on Jl. Sudirman.

Even though it may seem all right for the Hilton to charge a passerby driving through its premises the five hundred rupiah, I think it is unfair for the policeman to divert the traffic, which eventually enters Jl. Sudirman anyway. Sometimes I cannot help thinking that there might be some kind of conspiracy between the Hilton and the policeman. This, of course, cannot possibly be true.

You can see a similar thing elsewhere, such as in front of the Skyline Building on Jl. Thamrin for cars coming from Tanah Abang that want to go south onto Jl. Sudirman. The cars pay Rp 500 to enter the Skyline parking lot, just to make a left turn back to Jl. Sudirman. A very smart and easy way to make Rp 500.

These folks are clever enough to spot an opportunity to earn money. And I can't blame them. After all we need the service. I just hope somebody can find a fair solution to this problem.

SYAMSURI RANIE

Jakarta