Pedestrian hero becomes Internet hit

No passing through: Alfini stopping motorcyclists from using the sidewalks along Jakarta’s busy streets. — AFP

JAKARTA: An Indonesian woman has become an unlikely Internet sensation after photos of her angrily stopping motorcyclists from driving on pavements in traffic-choked Jakarta went viral online.

Alfini Lestari, a 34-year-old cook, was pictured with her arms outstretched as she physically blocked a horde of motorbikes from riding down the pavement alongside one of the capital’s main thoroughfares during rush hour this week. After the picture was printed on the front page of a national newspaper, she quickly gained a following online in a city with some of the world’s worst traffic jams, threadbare public transport and few areas where pedestrians can comfortably walk.