JAKARTA. State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan became “furious” and took things into his own hands at the Senayan toll gate early on Tuesday, after he found himself stuck in a severe traffic jam.He decided that he was not going to take it anymore. “I was not only angry. I was extremely furious,” Dahlan said afterward.The minister was on his way to a meeting at Garuda Indonesia’s offices when he found 30 cars waiting to enter the Senayan toll gate, near the Sultan Hotel in South Jakarta, at 6:10 a.m.Frustrated at the delay, Dahlan exited his vehicle to inspect the booths, discovering that only two of the four booths at the gate were at work — one manned, one was automated.The minister did what many Jakartans can only dream about, and entered the vacant booths and threw the operators’ chairs onto the road.“These chairs are useless,” he said.As the line of vehicles at the gate continued to grow, Dahlan, taking command of the situation, told attendants to open the unused gates and let vehicles go through without paying. At least 100 cars enjoyed the free pass, including that of flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia president Emirsyah Satar. “I have told [state toll road operator] PT Jasa Marga dozens of times not to allow long lines of vehicles at toll gates,” Dahlan said.He added that he would impose sanctions and that he hoped the toll road’s management would immediately improve the service.In less than a few hours, Dahlan’s inspired action went viral on the Internet and set the social media website abuzz. Before noon, his name became a trending topic on Twitter, with many of its users showering Dahlan with praise.Lawmaker Yudi Widiana Adia from the House of Representatives Commission V on transport, telecommunications, public works, public housing, village development and disadvantages areas, added to the praise.“I fully support and appreciate what Pak Dahlan did. I hope it serves as shock therapy for Jasa Marga to improve its performance,” he said.Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto stopped short at jumping on the bandwagon by saying, “Let’s look at this positively. It shows that [Dahlan] cares for the people.”Jasa Marga predictably put the blame on its employees, saying that tardy officers were responsible for the severe traffic back-up. “Some officers came late to man their booths. We’ve raised the issue,” the company’s corporate secretary Okke Merlina said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com. “This is good [input] for our future,” Okke said of the incident.Separately, Jakarta Traffic Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wahyono urged PT Jasa Marga to handle toll gate bottlenecks more effectively by opening more toll gates at peak hours. “Our observations on the street have found that many of the gates are not used to handle increasing traffic during peak hours,” he said. The traffic police’s highway directorate chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Jazari said that the police had told Jasa Marga numerous times to act quickly in handling the bottlenecks. “We have told them again and again that if they don’t act quickly, the people will be so enraged and revolt against them.” Dahlan’s popular moves
- Dahlan insisted on wearing his locally made black and white sneakers during his inauguration as minister at the Presidential Palace late last year.
- When attending a Cabinet meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace early this year, Dahlan traveled by economy train from Jakarta to Bogor, West Java, and then took a motorcycle taxi to the palace.
- Dahlan refused to accept a driver, preferring to drive his own Mercedes sedan.
- Dahlan refused to occupy an executive office as minister, and instead took a modest room on a lower floor of the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry in Jakarta.