A

“motorcycle gang” of as many as 200 people launched attacks in three different locations in Jakarta last week, killing one innocent bystander and leaving at least seven others injured.

The gang did not only target innocent bystanders but also took and stole valuables, including mobile phones, and damaged the shops and motorcycles in many areas.

In response to the attacks, the Jakarta Police and military have deployed 250 officers in an all-out pursuit of the motorcycle gang.

Gang warfare, street brawls and many other phenomena have created social unrest in multiple dimensions.

For the rank and file, such thuggery constitutes an iceberg-peak of social terrorism at the expense of people’s right to security. This sort of violence is inseparably bound to the absence of the state, particularly the security apparatus, in the endless war against the gangs. The series of gang attacks indicated that law enforcers had failed to protect citizens, due to the repeated acts.

Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) chairman Neta S. Pane said at least 60 people died in gang attacks each year in the capital. The attacks make people more marginalized, not only because they are powerless over the civilian terror but also because of their low bargaining power before the security apparatus.

Motorcycle gangs are a conservative organized crime group, particularly in big cities like Jakarta. The police frequently take reactive action, instead of being proactive against the increasing problem.

The police seem to have less initiative and ability to take action proactively to get rid of the motorcycle gangs. Like martial art fighters, the police are busy fending off rather than preparing attacks.

Such an approach to organized motorcycle gang would be counterproductive, due to its partiality on one side and the consolidation of social capital of the thugs on the other. The debacle of the police rooting out those threatening people means the security apparatus loses face in a fight against civilian criminals.

The failure of the police to deal with the motorcycle gang is also attributable to a weakening ideology of anti-terror within the institution. For years, the police became accustomed to applying security approaches in dealing with criminals without taking more humanistic approaches into account.

When asked for an esteeming humanistic approach such as respect for human rights, police become panicked, startled and are afraid of violating human rights. Human rights abuses have been specters for the police to overlook anti-terror ideology that they are supposed to rely on and develop.

In truth, the police cannot move and walk on their own to build up an ideology of anti-terror ideology without public participation.

The involvement of social institutions — traditional leaders, neighborhood watches and NGOs — plays a critical role in establishing such an ideology.

The only objective of the ideology is to make motorcycle gangs, as a part of thuggery, as people’s common enemy. The gangs’ activities are partly the result of upper-class arrogance going unchallenged by the authorities.

The gang members feel stronger when they are in a group. Hence, parents, school officials and police need to pay more attention to the problem.

The holistic step involving a lot of quarters is necessary, considering the possible involvement of state apparatus in the latest gang attack. Three attacks by motorcycle gangs — in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, and Kemayoran — are linked, with Navy officers reportedly key participants.

Police allege that each of the attacks were committed by the same group in retaliation for the killing of Arifin Sirih, 25, a sailor. Arifin was killed in an attack by a motorcycle gang in North Jakarta, on March 31, in Kemayoran.

If a number of navy personnel were involved, then it begs the question how a large number of them could organize themselves and leave the navy base en masse without this being known to navy command or at least noticed? A large group of sailors, out of uniform, going off base together would surely be noticed. Just in case the Navy gets involved, no wonder the gang were never stopped by the police. It is ironic that the ones who swear to protect people are actually killing their own people.

Some may long for strong and charismatic military figures of Benny Murdani’s and M. Yusuf’s calibre at this time. If we had that quality of individuals in charge, it would be highly unlikely that we would be witnessing this type of lawlessness.

Apart from their questionable approach to tackling the thuggery, the threat of petrus (mysterious shootings), as had occurred in the early 1980’s, would have almost certainly guaranteed that the gangs would not have lasted for long during the Soeharto era.

Equally important is an escalating trend of selecting a shortcut in troubleshooting for many people. It is no secret that scores of businesspeople and government officials befriend thugs, including the biker gangs, to realize their projects and overcome possible public resistance. Thugs, street gangsters and biker gangs are deemed as more easily accessible and asked to help.

In the short term, it makes sense since involving the thugs does not need much time to deal with problems. In the long term, however, people pay a high price for choosing this method as hoodlums or thugs always capitalize upon those who rely on them to meet their wishes.

The writer lectures at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences at Andalas University, Padang