Being a pedestrian in Jakarta sometimes forces one to become a fighter as well as “a traffic officer”, like Alfini Lestari who bravely blocks motorcyclists from riding on the sidewalk along Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta.

“One motorcyclist even yelled at me, ‘do you think you own the road? You act like this only to become famous, right?’” the 34-year-old said on Tuesday.

Alfini, who works as a cook at a Sultan Residence aparment in the same area, said she did not care about being scolded, as it in fact encouraged her to be more courageous.

“I yelled back at them, ‘If you dare, just hit me!’” she said.

Alfini’s photo on the front page of The Jakarta Post Tuesday edition went viral. Many, including singer and song writer Glenn Fredly, praised her courage.

“Her name is Alfini, the blocker of motorcyclists who violate pedestrians’ rights. She is the sane woman of the capital […] love you Alfini,” Glenn said on his Twitter account.

Alfini cannot remember when she started blocking motorcyclists but she does it more often now after the Jakarta administration scrapped its three-in-one traffic policy, which required vehicles passing Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta to carry people at least three.

“The road has become more congested and the motorcyclists now tend to use the sidewalks,” she said, adding that the conditions upset her as she has resorted to getting off her bus farther away from her workplace because the bus usually came to a standstill in the heavy traffic.

“Walking [to my workplace] is faster. So, I get off earlier. However, motorcyclists are taking away my rights while police officers are rarely stationed there,” she said.

Alfini is one of only a few who risk their lives in order to claim their rights as pedestrians on sidewalks. The lack of law enforcement forces this lonesome fight.

Similar acts were also carried out by Daffa Farros Oktaviarto, 10, a fifth grader in Semarang, Central Java.

The boy has been bravely preventing motorcyclists from riding on the sidewalks along Jl. Sudirman in Kalibanteng since early this year by yelling at the traffic violators, blocking them with his bicycle and forcing them to stay on the road.

Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi later presented Daffa with a new bike for his efforts.

The Pedestrian Coalition has for years been fighting for the same cause, but while Alfini and Daffa’s actions were deemed heroic by many, coalition chairman Alfred Sitorus was worried about what had occurred. “I am afraid that it can lead to societal conflict,” he said.

Alfred said what Alfini and other pedestrians did was because law enforcement personnel were not doing their jobs.

“Where are the police officers and government officials?” he said.

He said pedestrians actually did not have the authority to act in such a way but as they could not rely on anyone else, they were forced to do so.

Alfred said such actions could make both parties upset. “It can create road rage.”

“We want law enforcement to do their jobs and punish anyone who violates the law, both pedestrians and motorists,” he said.

Alfred said his coalition was once successful in forcing police officers to fine motorcyclists who occupied sidewalks but they did it for only a week after they stopped being in the news.

“They did it three years ago. They fined 6,000 motorists and motorcyclists in one week. However, after that they stopped,” he said.

Being a pedestrian is a challenge in Jakarta. The coalition recorded that 80 percent of sidewalks are far from adequate in the capital, while 18 pedestrians nationwide die each day due to road accidents.

The public monitoring application, Qlue, reveals that at least 5,797 reports on sidewalks were submitted from January to April to the app.

The reports range from illegal parking to street vendors, damaged facilities and traffic violations.
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