Street Cowboys in the Capital
There is distrust of the law, society and the state. This distrust lets road users think they can do whatever they want because the road is seen as no man's land.
The action of street cowboys was again presented through a viral video of two black cars on the right lane of the Jagorawi Toll Road towards Jakarta on Sunday (18/9/2022). The attempt by the drivers to overtake each other ended after one of the drivers rolled down the windshield and pointed a gun at the other driver.
It was later discovered that the driver who pointed the gun was a member of the Indonesian Military (TNI) with the rank of captain. He drove the official car of the Defense Ministry (Kemenhan) during the incident.
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry Dahnil Simanjuntak said the Defense Ministry had coordinated with TNI Headquarters as the direct supervisor of the active military officer serving in the Defense Ministry. He confirmed that the perpetrator will be prosecuted.
"The person concerned will be immediately processed by the law applicable in the internal department of the Defense Ministry and will be immediately returned to TNI Headquarters to his direct supervisor. The next legal process is at Headquarters," he said on Tuesday (20/9).
The person concerned will be immediately processed by the law applicable in the internal department of the Defense Ministry and will be immediately returned to TNI Headquarters to his direct supervisor.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto also apologized to the public for the behavior of the member of the Defense Ministry. The Defense Minister also thanked the public who supervised the behavior of the Defense Ministry personnel.
The street cowboy spectacle sparked old memories of a video on Youtube titled "Koboy Palmerah". This 1 minute 59 second video recorded a driver of a car with TNI service number 1394-00 arguing with a motorcyclist because of a collision on Jl. Tentara Pelajar in Jakarta on Monday (30/4/2012).
The man, dressed in a white shirt and beige trousers, was also seen carrying an object resembling a firearm. There was a sound like a gunshot. He was seen hitting the motorcyclist several times with a stick. The blows hit the helmet that the motorcyclist was wearing (Kompas, 2 May 2012).
Traffic situation on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, Tuesday (20/9/2022).
Seeing the phenomenon on the streets of the capital, transportation observer, Budiyanto, said that everyone has the same rights to use the road according to its designation. However, it is more important that road users must understand, know and drive properly on the road.
In the context of the street cowboy action, according to Budiyanto, the use of the right lane is to overtake. After overtaking, the driver should immediately return to the original lane to give other vehicles a chance to overtake.
Violations should not be responded to with violations.
The safe situation and safe spaces for overtaking also need to be considered. Do not force yourself to overtake from the left side and do not take counterproductive action, such as the case of the viral incident, by pointing a gun.
"Violations should not be responded to with violations. Road users must be able to balance their rights and obligations on the road,” said Budiyanto.
The retired police officer who was once the head of the Sub-Directorate for Law Enforcement at the Jakarta Police Ditlantas (Traffic Directorate) advised road users to take pictures or record the actions of arrogant or violating road users. Furthermore, road users can report to the authorities instead of taking the law into their own hands.
An old Song
This street cowboy action is like an old song that keeps playing on repeat. The perpetrator could be anyone. This started from a series of incidents where the perpetrators were ordinary citizens or security officers. Meanwhile, the victims range from children to parents.
Asep Suseno (26), a car driver at a material shop, was shot dead by a motorcyclist because of an argument after they almost bumped into each other. The incident occurred in front of PT Pharmasi Sinde Budi Sentosa on Jl. Diponegoro, kilometer marker 39, Setiamekar Village, Tambun, Bekasi Regency, West Java, on Friday (1/13/2012) at around 11:00 a.m.
Again, because of a trivial matter, NFA (40) beat a driver of an angkot (public minivan) of the D06 service route (Depok-Simpangan Terminal), Alimin Latif (33) with a gun handle similar to a pistol on Monday (13/2/2012) at 12:30 p.m. Residents and the police were able to intervene because the location was only 50 meters from the Depok City Police Headquarters.
On Jul. 9, 2017, an information technology expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Hermansyah (46), was beaten by a number of people with sharp weapons and seriously injured on the Jagorawi Toll Road kilometer marker 6 in East Jakarta. Police suspected that the cause of the assault on Sunday morning was triggered by the emotional reactions caused by a car crash.
A trigger-happy cowboy-style action was also carried out by AM in the Kemang area in South Jakarta on Saturday (12/21/2019) at 4:30 p.m. He was offended by the remarks of two high school students. AM then got out of a Lamborghini and uttered inappropriate words. AM ordered the two students to squat down as he fired shots.
In addition to not being able to balance rights and obligations on the road, a sociologist at the State University of Jakarta, Rakhmat Hidayat, said that street cowboys continue to appear because of the lack of awareness and ethics of road users in public spaces. In fact, public spaces, such as roads, pedestrian paths and parks are shared property in an equal position.
"The classic phenomenon of developing countries, equality, is rather difficult. It is ironic and paradoxical because there are certain factors or groups who try to dominate the public sphere,” he said.
We have a problem with the awareness of the citizens of the city and there is a structural problem with policy makers.
Public space is a sensitive issue in developed countries. Their citizens fight for equality to take legal action through lawsuits. As a result, there are strict and clear regulations from policy makers to regulate rights and obligations to be equal.
“We have a problem with the awareness of the citizens of the city and there is a structural problem with policy makers. People behave irrationally, disobediently and obediently,” said Rakhmat, who teaches urban sociology courses.
On the other hand, there is distrust of the law, society and the state. This distrust lets road users think they can do whatever they want because the road is seen as no man's land.
This condition is exacerbated by positions, connections and money that make people tend to feel free to do whatever they want. They feel they have the upper hand on the streets because the law is not functioning optimally.
In the end, everything that happens on the road is a reflection of ourselves and our society. (EDN)
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
