No-go for Jakarta's illegal traffic guides
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With a whistle in his mouth, Beri Saidi waves on a stream of traffic across a set of railway tracks.
Occasionally, a driver slows down in the middle of the crossing to hand over some money to Beri.
After accepting a few tips, the 26-year-old abruptly blows his whistle and gesticulates frantically at motorists to stop while pulling down a red-and-white metal gate as a train approaches.
He is a “Pak Ogah”, an informal traffic regulator mostly found at T-junctions, U-turns and railway crossings in Jakarta.
Armed with nothing more than a whistle and bravery, these Pak Ogah, who range from children to young people to elderly men, cash in on motorists desperate to manoeuvre through Jakarta’s maddening traffic by providing a traffic regulating service for tips.
This practice has been going on for decades, but a collision between a train and fuel truck last Monday that killed seven people and injured nearly 100 has cast a spotlight on these traffic regulators.
Eyewitness accounts suggested that the Pak Ogah at the Bintaro crossing, where the accident happened, contributed to the crash by not stopping the truck driver from driving across.
For years, the authorities have turned a blind eye to these illegal traffic regulators, who often add to traffic safety concerns. They do things such as letting motorists perform illegal U-turns, zip through a blocked crossing or park illegally.
Transport analysts say 70 per cent of the estimated 4,000 rail crossings in Indonesia are unmanned and fair game for the Pak Ogah.
In Jakarta alone, government records show that 92 of the 175 railway crossings are without barriers, although there are signals to tell motorists when to stop. It is usual to see motorists, cyclists and pedestrians ignore the signals, take a chance and dash through, often with the help of a Pak Ogah.
Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo has imposed a fine of 500,000 rupiah (about Bt1,300) on those who make illegal crossings. His deputy, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, wants to go further and has ordered a clean-up to rid the city of Pak Ogah.
“In Jakarta, if people don’t have a job but have guts, then you’ll see them ‘prit prit’ at the road crossings and pocket 250,000 rupiah in three hours,” he told reporters, mimicking the sound of a whistle. “We have to catch them all, and clean this up.”
At a rail crossing at Palmerah in south Jakarta, Beri said: “We can make up to 200,000 rupiah in one day, taking turns among whoever among us is free.”
To tell if a train is coming, he glances at a signal light some 100m away. Once it turns amber and goes to green, it means a train is coming and he blows his whistle and tugs on a rope to bring down the metal barriers.
