I had one of those "Twilight Zone" moments yesterday.
I was driving home during lunch hour, taking my usual route, driving my old faithful. Just ahead, I noticed a roadblock. It was one of those JPJ roadblocks that's been popping up quite regularly on this stretch of the road. Being a law-abiding citizen that I am, I was unfazed, mildly annoyed, but waited nonetheless as the officers inspected each passing vehicle. They scanned for the usual stuff...road tax, car tint, et cetera.
Two cars ahead... officer nodded... waved them off... then it was my turn.
I smiled my law-abiding smile, confident that I'll be waved off, as usually the case.
Heck no. I was asked to roll down my window.
"Ye cik...ada apa-apa?"
"Tolong bawak keluar lesen...nak check" said smug JPJ officer-on-a-power-trip.
Mild annoyance hiked up 3 notches. For the record, I've never had a run-in with the law enforcers, nor have I ever been stopped at a roadblock before. I did a quick mental run-through -- IC, check ... road tax renewed, check ... driver's license, check.
And so while I was reaching out for my wallet, said smug JPJ officer walked up to another vehicle. Another chap took his place and waited as I fiddled with my wallet.
The fiddling turned to actual arm-wrestling. My driver's license refused to budge! Somehow it got stuck in one of the compartments, snugly sandwiched between my IC and Blood Type A medical card. The line of cars behind me grew longer. Mak was under pressure!
"Alamak...lesen stuck la cik...tak boleh keluar," said red-faced buffoon that was I. "Sekejap ye saya cuba keluarkan".
"Pelan-pelan...takpe," said JPJ officer.
The line of cars grew longer. Arm-wrestling with wallet well underway. Credit cards, Jusco/Metrojaya/Bonuslink cards went flying about...but no sign of driver's licence. It. Just. Wouldn't. BUDGE! I don't know if it was my innocent fumbling that got his attention, or whether he was tired of waiting, or the dagger looks the other drivers were giving him, but JPJ officer let me go.
"Takpelah...saya percaya kat awak. Lesen tak mati kan?"
"Eh lesen memang tak mati cik! Betul! Saya memang confirm...tak tau camne boleh stuck pulak ni," said clown.
"Takpe...saya percaya."
So I was let go. As I continued my drive home, I reminded myself to un-budge the driver's license so as to avoid future roadblock faux pas. Buat malu kompeni aje...said clown.
Arriving home, I flipped open my wallet, wrestled yet again with it, and finally managed to dislodge the culprit in question. My jaw dropped.
My driver's license were well beyond its expiry date. I could have been in a lot of trouble had it not been for the mysterious 'melekat' episode.
I decided, there and then, that some divine intervention had to take place! The unbudging of the said license happened to ensure my law-abiding days aren't numbered. That I continually have a place in society, and not a detainee of a JPJ jailhouse somewhere, if any.
Moral of the story : If you get stuck (pun-intended) in a situation, do not gripe. A divine intervention is taking place.
