April 15, 2022
Fire destroys Denpasar's license plate-makers, new registrations delayed + Tourism Assn. rejects rumored plan to triple Visa-on-Arrival fee + 100s of Unud students protest dormitory fees + more
Good morning!
Welcome to The Bali Beat for Friday, April 15. In today’s edition: A fire at the Provincial Revenue Office has destroyed many of the island's license plate-making machines, delaying new vehicle registrations indefinitely. The Tourism Association has loudly rejected an apparent plan to triple to cost of VOAs. And hundreds of Unud students rallied against new on-campus residency requirement & dorm fees, which the administration backed down from very quickly. Scroll down for the full wrap on what has been happening in Bali and Indonesia since you last heard from us.
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Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
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Daily Covid Update
National Figures
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The Big News
"Fire at Samsat Denpasar, 3 Machines Damaged, Thousands of Number Plate Making in Bali Blocked" from Suara Bali (Indonesian): A fire broke out at the Denpasar City Samsat office, precisely at the Bali Provincial Revenue Agency office on Thursday (14/4/2022) early in the morning. This incident scorched the place where the Motorized Vehicle Number Sign (TNBK) was made. This incident could hinder the manufacture of Denpasar Samsat vehicle plates. This fire was caused by the explosion of an electric Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) in one of the canteens. Not only 3 canteens were burned, the fire also burned the place where the Denpasar Samsat vehicle number plates were made. Three of the four number plate printing machines were damaged in the fire. As a result, the number plate production, which reaches 2,500 vehicle license plates per day, will be hampered. "The Denpasar Samsat has also coordinated with the Police to bring in a number plate printing machine from the Badung Police," said Anak Agung Rai Sugiartha, Head of the Denpasar Samsat Tax and Retribution UPTD.
Context: Video of the blaze can be seen here.
"Bali Tourism Industry Rejects VoA Tariff Plan to Increase 3 Times" from iNews Bali (Indonesian): Bali tourism actors reject the plan to increase the visa on arrival (VoA) rate three times to Rp 1.5 million. The increase is considered to be burdensome for tourists who come to Bali. "We and 10 stakeholders object to the planned three-fold increase in VoA," said Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana... Agung said that since the VoA was implemented on March 7, 2022, foreign tourist visits to Bali have started to creep up. Even in the last three days, the number of arrivals has reached 2,500 foreign tourists per day. He reminded not to let the planned increase in VoA become a bad issue in the midst of efforts to restore Bali's tourism. Moreover, it has been two years since Bali's economy has slumped due to the impact of the pandemic.
Context: While there has been no official announcement from Ministry of Law and Human Rights about this price increase, this move by the Tourism Association appears to be in response to a memo that was quietly circulated to local travel agents.
"Hundreds of Students of Unud Rectorate Building, Demand to Abolish Dormitory Obligations" from Bali Express (Indonesian): "Today, we are together with representatives from several students, student institutions, Camaba and their parents, who are indeed quite uneasy about the current issue (mandatory dormitories for new students)," said Surya Timur Action Coordinator. "Through this action, we question the mechanism for those (new students) who have already paid for the Udayana Integrated Student Dormitory (dormitory). So we decided to keep taking action.”
Context: In addition to the new costs, students & families were upset that the new residency requirement was being instituted to create a new revenue stream for the public university’s funding. The administration quickly relented in the face of the opposition and the school’s chancellor has called off the scheme and promised refunds to the 600 students who already made fee payments.
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The Movement of Recovery (Yayasan Pergerakan Pemulihan) is one of the main drivers of mental health services in Bali. Together with BBB Community, they launched LISA (Love Inside Suicide Awareness), a helpline which offers support in Bahasa Indonesian and English. They offer free counselling and support for those in need. For more information, please visit their website here.
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Other Headlines
"Fire Victims in Kuta Sleeping on the Emperan, Help Begins to Come" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The fire accident that flattened nine wrecked warehouse buildings and 67 residents' rooms on Jalan Pudak Sari, Banjar Anyar, Kuta, Badung on Tuesday (12/4/2022) made a number of parties feel sorry for them. "It's called a disaster. We can't do anything. We can only save clothes. The rest is on fire," said Suyono, a resident whose six rooms were devoured by the red rooster. Yesterday, a number of residents also slept in the courtyard or front porch of other residents' houses who are still safe. They really did not expect this disaster to happen. There are some victims who plan to return to their villages, some are trying to rebuild their houses. This is very difficult, because the work as construction workers to scavengers they produce is only enough for their daily needs. This makes a number of residents feel sorry for Bali. One by one, residents and social organizations came to provide assistance. Such as basic needs, used clothes, bedding and others.
Context: The local charity Aku For Bali has been on the ground helping the dozens of victims of this week’s fire. You can see updates about their work on their Instagram page here.
"Baby Sumatran Elephant Born in Gianyar And Named Lanang" from Suara Bali (Indonesian): On Thursday (14/4/2022), the baby elephant was invited to eat fruit with its mother, Terry (39). Marketing Manager, Putu Agus Setiawan said the zoo team succeeded in breeding the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas Maximus Sumatranus), which was the first elephant born at Bali Zoo since Bali Zoo had elephants in 2011. "This male elephant calf was born healthy and weighs approximately 80 kilograms, at 01.00 WITA in the morning from the female partner Terry (39) and the male Budi (34), he said. "Starting today, April 14, 2022, a baby elephant named Lanang will be introduced to visitors," he concluded.
Tourism Update
"Agoda data indicates early signs of recovery for Bali following Indonesia's early reopening" from Business Traveller: Bali ranked the top search destination in Indonesia, while the entire country ranked third as a destination in Asia, following closely behind Thailand and Philippines. In India too, Indonesia falls under top four countries that Indians are currently looking forward to travelling to. Agoda’s data also shows searches from Bali’s top five international origins markets, namely Australia, United States, Singapore, United Kingdom, and South Korea respectively, with the highest search increase from Australia (220%) and Singapore (200%).
More...
Province: "Period 6-10 April 2022, 6,699 foreigners use Visa On Arrival at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport" from Tribune Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Deputy Governor asks Bali Villa Association to list the number of legal villas" from Antara (Indonesian)
Vaccination Update
Nation: "Pursuing Target Ahead of the G20 Summit, 1 million Balinese have been vaccinated with boosters" from Kumparan (Indonesian)
Badung: "Decreasing Covid Cases in Badung, Vaccination Continues to be Promoted" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Buleleng: "Covid-19 Vaccination in Buleleng Regency Continues to be Accelerated" from Ring Times (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
"Government works to improve childhood vaccinations after decline" from The Jakarta Post: The government is seeking to improve childhood vaccination rates this year, which have been greatly impacted by disruption in health services during the COVID-19 pandemic and as parents avoid doctor's visits over fears of contracting the coronavirus. According to data from the Health Ministry, overall basic immunization coverage in the country dropped by roughly 9.5 percent in the past two years – from 93.7 percent in 2019 to 84.2 percent in 2021. The decline is especially prevalent for polio, rubella, and measles inoculation as well as DTP-HB-Hib vaccination for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia and meningitis.
Business, Economy & Infrastructure
Nation: "The government targets the 2023 state budget deficit to decrease" from Antara (Indonesian)
Nation: "BPOM announcing Kinder products' sample testing in April third week" from Antara
Nation: "No need for panic buying of fuel: Pertamina" from Antara
"Garbage Truck snaking in Suwung TPA, Denpasar City Secretary with this reason" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): The line of garbage trucks was so long that they entered the road leading to Serangan Village. As a result, garbage at the landfill (TPS) in Denpasar accumulates and overflows because it is not picked up by the officers. Denpasar City Regional Secretary, IB Alit Wiradana reasoned that the garbage was not transported optimally due to technical problems with heavy equipment damage at the Suwung TPA (Final Disposal Site) on Wednesday (13/4) morning. "As a short-term measure, I asked the Head of DLHK to deploy heavy equipment and trucks to transport garbage at the TPS on Jalan Pulau Seram which had spilled onto the road," he said. "Currently, the heavy equipment is being repaired which requires spare parts from Jakarta, hopefully the repairs can be completed soon and the waste transportation can return to normal."
Weekend Reads
"Q&A: Inside T-Hub, Asia’s very first crypto clubhouse located in Bali" from Lifestyle Asia
Of Interest
"Wild Monkey Enters Bali Governor's Office" from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
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How You Can Help Bali
Due to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali, tens of thousands of families have found themselves with a greatly reduced income—if any. If you’d like to support organizations working to help those in need, you can see a list of some here.
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