Sandiaga Uno says dangdut star Dewi Persik should be traffic ambassador following her alleged Busway lane violation, she refuses

Famous Indonesians becoming “ambassadors” for the very things they have disrespected has become one of the country’s more ridiculous trends in recent years.

Over the weekend, actress and dangdut star Dewi Persik found herself in the middle of a traffic controversy after her car was stopped by a TransJakarta officer from entering the exclusive Busway lane. She is considering legal action against the officer for his alleged rudeness towards her, but the officer countered that it was Dewi who was rude to him, and his superiors at TransJakarta have vowed to back him up should Dewi sue him.

One person who doesn’t seem to be backing the government officer is Vice Governor Sandiaga Uno, who instead proposed that Dewi’s celebrity status should be used to promote traffic discipline, regardless of the allegation against her.

“I have contacted the head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency and told him to make peace (with Dewi). Maybe this is a blessing, because the case has been exposed, it can be a lesson, and Dewi Persik can become the ambassador for traffic discipline and Busway discipline,” Sandiaga told reporters yesterday, as quoted by Tribun.

As noble as Sandiaga’s proposal might have sounded, Dewi said she has to refuse, as she explained in a post on her Instagram account yesterday:

Kepada bapak yang terhormat bapak wagub @sandiuno terimakasih atas kepercayaannya pak utk menjadikan saya DUTA TRANSJAKARTA (BUSWAY) tapi dengan tidak mengurangi rasa hormat dan kerendahan hati sepertinya sy blm ada kemampuan dan berani mjd duta. Lain hal kalau duta goyang dan nyanyi blh.. krn itu bidang saya…🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️

A post shared by Dewi Perssik Real (@dewiperssikreal) on Nov 27, 2017 at 2:57am PST

“To the respectable @sandiuno thank you for your trust in me in offering for me to become a TransJakarta Ambassador, but with all due respect and humility, I don’t think I have the qualifications and bravery to be an ambassador. It would be different if (I were asked to be) an ambassador for dancing and singing, because that’s my field,” Dewi wrote in her post.

Well, here’s a suggestion as to who might be qualified to become TransJakarta Ambassador: the officer who spends his days instilling discipline in Busway lanes.

Some of the most notable “ambassadors” in Indonesia in the past include dangdut singer Zaskia Gotik, who became an ambassador for Indonesia’s state ideology of Pancasila after she insulted it on TV, as well as a high school girl who became an anti-narcotics ambassador after a video showing her barking at a police officer over a traffic ticket went viral online.