The Traffic Cop

Sunday, December 10, 2006

By D.N. Maru

It was the fourth day in a row that Yanti and Iwan had not seen him. They
both felt a bit uneasy.

"He is still not there", said Yanti, looking around through the car window
while their car made a turn from Jl. Terusan Kuningan into Jl. Tendean.

"What could be the reason?" murmured Iwan, Yanti's husband, keeping his
eyes peeled and at the same time concentrating on traffic ahead on the
road.

"Hopefully he is alright", said Yanti with concern.

***

It was Iwan who mentioned the traffic cop at the intersection of Jl. Tendean
and Jl. Terusan Kuningan about two months ago.

"Look at him," he said while making a right turn. "Did you notice?"

"What?" asked Yanti, who had just woken up from a short nap.

Yanti and Iwan use their own car to travel between their home and the office.
It cost them a pretty penny. Though the cost was a substantial part of their
income, the poor state of public transportation in the city had left them with
no other option.

Most of the public buses and minivans were in an appalling condition. Thick
black exhaust fumes choked not only passengers but pedestrians as well.
Recklessly driven city buses made passengers' lives miserable. Buses raced
dangerously against each other in already overcrowded streets to lure more
passengers and revenue, putting many lives at stake. Abrupt, screeching
brakes made the heart miss a beat. Annoying beggars and pickpockets were
other irritants.

It made perfect sense for Iwan and Yanti to use their own car as both of them
worked in the Kebayoran Baru area of South Jakarta.

"I have been observing him for the last several days", said Iwan. "This cop
looks very enthusiastic, always smiling, busy guiding the traffic using his
whistle and waving his hands, so different from the others".

"Oh yah", said Yanti showing no interest.

She had always had a very negative image of traffic policemen. She had
heard numerous jokes circulating in the workplace about them. One of the
famous being -- if you want to know whether a cop is a new recruit or not,
look at his tummy. She remembered a few others and smiled. Jokes apart,
her own experience had been terrible. She recalled how she had to pay an
unofficial fine when she made a prohibited turn.

At many intersections and roads, traffic signs were very confusing. These
were written in small letters with lots of exceptions and time limits.
Sometimes these were covered by trees and sometimes placed in such a
way that they were invisible. It was very easy to miss them. It was no secret
that some of these signs were created to trap motorists obliging them to pay
unofficial fines to eager police officers. Instead of regulating the traffic at
these spots, many cops preferred to hide and wait to trap unwary motorists.
Once you made a wrong turn or missed one of these signs, a cop, usually
hiding behind a tree or pole would appear from nowhere. Most of the
motorists opted to settle on the spot by paying the traffic officer directly to
avoid the hassles of attending at a later date the crowded court, pay the
penalty and collect the license.

Her husband's remarks about the cop hardly impressed her.

However, from that day onwards, she always looked for him. Yes, her
husband was correct. He was different. One day she saw him helping an old
lady cross the road. Another day he was assisting school children. A few days
back she saw him pushing a car that had broken down with a smile. She saw
him supporting a fallen motor cyclist last Monday.

Two weeks back, their car was stopped by him as they crossed the
intersection when it had just turned red.

In recent years, as the number of vehicles multiplied in the city, adherence

to traffic rules had been on the decline. The fast pace of Jakarta life had
made people impatient. It was very common to see army of motorcycles
waiting ahead of traffic signal and zebra crossing. Cars and motorcycles
often went through a light that had already turned red. This often created
chaos and traffic jams on the road as no one wanted to give way. Usually one
got carried away by what others were doing.

After greeting politely, the cop asked for Iwan's driver's license and car
registration.

"Didn't you see the traffic light was red?" he inquired.

"Maaf Pak, I am extremely sorry, I have to attend an urgent meeting and I

was late", pleaded Iwan while handing over his car registration certificate.
The policeman was taking a close look at it. Rusli Sudarmo, was his name
Iwan noted while taking out his driver's license from the wallet in the back
pocket of his trousers. He folded a fifty thousand bank note and put it behind
the license. The policeman saw this and became furious.

"What do you think you're doing?" the police man said angrily. "You already
made one mistake and are going to make a second. I can charge you on two
offenses," he added.

Initially, Iwan was trying hard to figure out whether the cop wanted more
money or he was really angry. The traffic policeman continued with a long
lecture on discipline and traffic rules. It was obvious that he was serious.

Iwan was shocked and dumbfounded. He could not utter a word. Yanti looked
at him in disbelief.

"Pak, we are really sorry about this," said Yanti in a soft voice.

"Ok, remember not to repeat the same mistake in the future", warned the
traffic policeman. He let them go.

Both of them felt great relief.

It was an unusual experience for them. They recounted the whole story to
many of their friends and acquaintances. Whoever heard it was amazed.

Not seeing the traffic policeman for last four days made Iwan and Yanti
uncomfortable.

"He must have been transferred," said Yanti.

"I hope you are correct," said Iwan, worried. "IF we don't see him tomorrow,
we will try to enquire about him."

The following day he was not present at the intersection either. Iwan and
Yanti parked their car at the nearby Maharaja Hotel. They inquired after
Sudarmo with a fellow policeman.

"Sorry Pak, we would like to know the whereabouts of Pak Sudarmo" asked
Iwan. "We haven't seen him for a couple of days. Has he been moved?"

"Are you relatives of Pak Sudarmo," he asked.

"No, we are not related to him," said Iwan. The fellow policeman was a bit
surprised. "But we see him here daily. He is one of the finest cops we have
ever met," continued Iwan.

"We hope he is alright," said Yanti.

"He is in the hospital," said the traffic policeman. "He has a lung infection."

"Ooo yaaaa!" said Iwan. "Would you be kind enough to tell us which hospital
he is in?"

"Sure," replied the police officer. "He is in Sukanto Hospital in Kramat Jati."

Both of them decided to pay a visit to Pak Sudarmo in the evening during
visiting hours.

In the evening, they went to the hospital and looked for him.

"He is sleeping", said the nurse on duty.

"How is he?" asked Iwan.

"He is recovering and will probably be released in a day or two," replied the
nurse. "That's good to hear," said Yanti.

"Should I wake him up," asked the nurse.

"No, don't bother him. He needs rest," said Yanti.

"Is there any message for Pak Sudarmo?" asked the nurse.

"Just this," said Iwan, handing out a small bouquet of flower and a get-well-
soon card.

Both of them left the hospital with a great sigh of relief.

Sudarmo, when he woke up found yet another card. From Yanti & Iwan. He
tried hard to recollect the names. He could not. It was fourth in the last four
days from unknown well-wishers. He smiled and his face glowed.

* Pak: title/form of address for a man * Maaf: Sorry