We all know that being stuck in a traffic jam sucks, but here in Indonesia, traffic jams often suck for pedestrians too because all too often motorcyclists will drive on sidewalks in order to beat the macet.
One child in Semarang, Central Java, apparently had enough of the illegal sidewalk shortcutters, so he took it upon himself to stop it. The brave boy, identified as 9-year-old Daffa Farros Oktoviarto, used his bike to prevent motorists from passing on the pedestrian pavement.
Many took photos and videos of Daffa’s stand against sidewalk motorcycles, one of which was uploaded to Instagram by none other than Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihardi:
Is the kid a hero? Well, some netizens pointed out that he too shouldn’t have brought his bike onto the sidewalk, but others defended him since he wasn’t actually riding his bike at the time (at least in the video).
Whatever the case, Daffa was successful in that he got the Semarang city administration to deploy Civil Service Police (Satpol PP) officers to prevent sidewalk misuse in the city.
Maybe it’s the disillusioned cynic in us talking, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this operation will only last as long as the public’s interest in Daffa’s story. More people will need to take a stand against sidewalk abuse in order to make it stick.
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