Time to hurry up and wait and wait and ...

Time to hurry up and wait and wait and ...

JAKARTA (JP): Patience is in short supply when it comes to
Jakarta residents.

Look at how they compete in trying to get where they want to
go. In a traffic jam, you might think you are doing the right
thing and obeying traffic regulations by maintaining five meters
between you and the vehicle in front. The guy behind you,
however, will probably decide you are a lousy driver.

He may proceed to blow his horn or overtake you, slipping into
the space you left for safety purposes. He needs to be "one-car-
earlier" to arrive at his destination, but he will eventually
have to yield to other road users who need to be "earlier than
early". The latter -- an ambulance, a convoy of vehicles for a
funeral or just a car carrying "important" people -- are usually
escorted by motorbikes and heralded by the annoying wail of
sirens.

As for the ear-splitting sirens, I keep wondering if there is
any regulation to control this noise pollution. As far as I am
concerned, sirens must only be used for emergency purposes. I
understand if I have to give way for an ambulance, a funeral
procession or RI-1, the presidential vehicle.

An ambulance, for obvious reasons, must be given priority. RI-
1 needs to get by in a hurry because the President has a lot of
important things to do. He may be off to give a speech at the
opening ceremony of an important event, or to tell jokes on a
talk show. Yet to give way to a group of road users who are
merely in a hurry to get to their destination? No way!

I once got involved in a heated argument with an officer
directing traffic. I was halted from entering a main road because
a string of buses, cars and truck was passing at high speed,
accompanied by the ubiquitous sirens. What enraged me was that
the passing party consisted of people from an "important"
government institution on their way home from the office.

"So, you rob convenience from the conventional road users just
to let those important people arrive home faster. What happened
to equal rights in using the road?" I protested.

"I'm only doing my job according to standard procedures," he
answered sternly.

"What standard procedures?" I challenged him. "Give me just
one good reason why some people get privileges in using public
facilities while others are required to make sacrifices?"

As he could not give me a satisfactory answer, I put my car in
gear and whizzed past him to join the homebound crowd. If I was
to be accused of breaching traffic regulations, then so be it.
Fortunately, he did not do anything about it, probably thinking I
was too crazy to deal with.

Sometimes people are in a hurry for no reason at all. You do
your best to arrive on time for an important appointment with a
notable person, and end up sitting in the waiting room for two
hours because the aforesaid notable person is busy jabbering with
someone else. In this country, the more important people are, the
more likely they will let others, especially those needing a
favor, wait.

I recently hurried to the wedding reception of an important
couple just to show that I was among the first guests to
congratulate them. I ended up stranded in the receiving line,
because all the VIPs, the top government officials and such, were
given priority. Or, put another way, the VIPs made themselves
available to congratulate and to be photographed with the bride
and groom.

Our country's VIPs, especially those in the government and
from politics, do not need to have patience because they have
priority not only in formal events but also social gatherings.
Unfortunately, it does not make them put their jobs -- the factor
that put them where they are -- as a priority.

In the last general election, the people of this nation
hurried to the poll booths to elect their representatives so that
a new government could be established and the economic crisis
handled properly.

After the elections, we were so excited about having a new
House of Representatives and a new People's Consultative
Assembly. They would soon elect the new president who would soon
form the new Cabinet whose members would soon work their heads
off to solve the country's problems.

Alas, we have been forced to wait again. The officials,
supposedly elected to work together in finding solutions to the
country's problems, are busy with their own agendas. In fact,
they are at each other's throats; trading criticism and
accusations seems to be their daily business.

For the people, it is time to draw on their stock of patience
once again, and wait and see what happens.

-- Carl Chairul