Tosin knows who's who after 40 years at court

JAKARTA (JP): If you have to go to Central Jakarta District Court sometime, it might help to look up an old man who has known who's who at the court for the past 40 years.

M. Tosin Atmawinata, 68, a helper at the court, has worked there since 1950.

For the past 12 years he said he has lived at the courthouse, lacking money to rent a home.

Among his more important tasks are to help janitors clean courtrooms, to hold keys for judges' rooms, to carry judges' bags and files, as well as to help witnesses swear in prior to hearings.

The man is also a "bodyguard".

"Nowadays I keep close to judges, especially in big political cases, such as in the case of Sri Bintang (Pamungkas). Because when someone tries to attack or harm a judge, I have to be ready and protect him."

Pak Tosin says he got his job by accident.

"I arrived in a train from my home in Ngawi, Madiun, East Java because I wanted to find work here," he said.

"I had friends who said working in Jakarta was great, so I wanted to try it out. I didn't even tell my parents that I was going to leave on the train."

Tosin said he never saw his parents again after that.

"I never tried contacting them, and I never went home after that," he said.

Tosin said after he arrived he had nothing to do and had to sleep on the roadside and at terminals.

"I worked just to stay alive," he said. He cleaned gardens, helped porters and held other odd jobs.

"But after a few months, when I was wandering in front of the courthouse -- it used to be called `Special State Court' -- a Dutchman asked me what I was doing here."

"I told Mr. Engelberg that I was looking for a decent job. He then asked me if I wanted to work here. He said if I could read and write I could help the clerks."

"Ever since I graduated from a Dutch public school (Sekolah Rakyat) in Madiun, I've had very good handwriting, and was able to keep my job until I retired in 1985."

Tosin said to have a decent job and to be a good employee was all he ever wanted, and there have been quite a few exciting times too.

"I'm glad that my job has given me the chance to observe many interesting cases, such as cases on subversion." But Tosin couldn't remember details, but said some were in the 1950s.

"There was also one time when I had to sleep on top of 20 bars of pure gold, which was evidence in a case. I could've stolen it if I wanted to, but I didn't," he said with a smile.

"I got promoted in 1958 as a clerk in criminal cases... I also worked as a clerk in a military tribunal until 1970, and after that worked at the administrative office again until my retirement," he said.

"It's funny," he said, "I once knew a whole family here, because the father was a judge, his wife a lawyer and the son was a prosecutor."

He also said he has known renown lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution since he was a student.

The father of seven children, 14 grandchildren and one great- grandchild, said he enjoyed his job, although sometimes he did not earn enough money to support his family.

"Occasionally judges or lawyers gave me money, especially when one of them won a case. I never asked for it because I don't want to beg, it's not right to do so in my religion."

Tosin now still works at the courthouse, but only as a temporary employee. "I've been a temporary worker for 12 years," he said.

"Sometimes I give information to journalists on the names of judges or prosecutors. We sometimes gossip," he said.

Tosin said compared to trials in the 1950s, today's court atmosphere was much different.

"We have a large judiciary now, compared to a time when judges and prosecutors were so few you could count them on your fingers," he said.

"People also respected the law and the judiciary in the 50s; there weren't enough police at the time," Tosin said. "The only security provided were firefighters with fire engines and courthouse staff."

In case of a riot, firefighters were ready to disperse rioters with hoses, he said.

"But now people are much more audacious towards judges and prosecutors; we need a lot of police officers for just one political trial," Tosin said.

"Maybe it is because today's prosecutors' hands are tied up by the Criminal Indictment Department at the Ministry of Justice," he said. Tosin said that prosecutors had to wait for approval by the head of the department before making a sentence request.

Tosin has been married twice. His first wife died in an accident.

"She was run lover by a cement truck," he said. His second wife lives in Rangkasbitung, West Java, with his two sons, who are still in junior high school.

Tosin said he visits his family once a week.

"I live here in the courthouse, and go home every Friday night to Rangkasbitung," he said. "Sometimes I spend the night in the pressroom because it has air-conditioning, or in any other empty room."

Tosin said he doesn't know when he is going to stop working.

"I still have two children and they need to finish their education, at least until high school. I also wish to perform the Haj pilgrimage one day."

He said his office has never subsidized his children's education. "I just had to find a way, that's why I only had two children so I could send them to universities."

Tosin said of all the time he worked at the courthouse, when employees or their family members died, became sick or got into trouble -- like when a clerk's house burned down -- the office never gave any compensation.

"Employees just gathered their own contributions," he said.

Tosin said he had no other choice than to keep working at the courthouse, because he has no money to open a small business.

"I've never worked anywhere else, and I know nothing about entrepreneurship, so this job is my only choice."

"I've worked hard all my life and I enjoy what I do -- it's much better than begging." (12)