Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil is very popular in his city, where he’s generally seen as a progressive leader who’s done much to take the capital of West Java forward in recent years. However, one particular Bandung citizen is making an enemy out of Kamil after he accused the mayor of beating him.
The story goes that last Friday, an angkot driver named Taufik Hidayat was waiting for passengers in his minivan near the Bandung city square. According to Taufik, a few of the mayor’s security detail suddenly went up to the minivan and told him to get out.
Moments later, Kamil arrived on a bike and wanted to have some words with Taufik, who was suspected of driving an illegal angkot as it had black license plates (which is meant for private vehicles).
“And then, he (Taufik) was slapped in the face three times and punched in the stomach twice by the mayor,” I Made Agus Rediyudana, Taufik’s legal representation, told Kompas yesterday.
Ridwan Kamil has his own version to the story, one which doesn’t implicate himself as being guilty of assault.
Kamil admitted that he wanted to reprimand the driver for driving an illegal angkot, but he said there were no punches landed.
“I approached him on my bike. But because he didn’t want to exit the minivan, there was some pulling [to get Taufik out]. When I asked him questions he just ignored me,” Kamil said, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.
“I slapped, I held his cheek to direct his eyes towards me, because psychologically if you want to interrogate someone you have to look them in the eyes.”
On his Facebook account, Kamil justified his methods – that many see as harsh – because the driver is supposedly a preman thug who illegally picks up and sometimes even forces passengers into his minivan.
In any case, Taufik has reported Kamil to the West Java Police for assault. In turn, Kamil is threatening to report Taufik to the police for various crimes, including traffic violations.
