April 20, 2022
Human smuggler arrested in Denpasar, 26 migrants rescued + Illegal concrete factory in Gianyar won't be shut down, Regent says + Cooking oil corruption probe nabs Director of Foreign Trade + more
Good morning!
Welcome to The Bali Beat for Wednesday, April 20. In today’s edition: Police arrested the leader of a human smuggling operation in Denpasar & rounded up 26 migrants who'd each paid millions of rupiah to be brought to jobs in Australia. After an illegal concrete factory was discovered in a tourism zone, Gianyar’s Regent responds to calls to shut it down by saying, "Yeah, come on, commanding is hard you know." And the government's cooking oil corruption probe names the Director General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Trade as a primary suspect. 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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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Daily Covid Update
National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
"About to Smuggle 26 Indonesians to Australia, Balinese Man Arrested in Kupang" from Kompas (Indonesian): S, a resident of Ubung Village, North Denpasar District, Denpasar City, Bali, was arrested by personnel from the Directorate of Water and Air Police (Ditpolairud) of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). S was arrested for trying to smuggle 26 Indonesians into Australia through NTT waters. The Director of Polairud Polda NTT Kombes Nyoman Budiarja said that the arrests of S and 26 prospective Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) were illegal after members of the Gakkum Subdit Ditpolairud NTT Police received information from fishermen about the alleged smuggling through the Semau Ojek Port.
Context: This story garnered massive media coverage yesterday, including a detailed breakdown of the smuggling scheme via this interview (Indonesian) with the only woman in the group that was intercepted. Meanwhile, over in Sri Lanka, 5 Balinese women who’d been working in a spa in Colombo were arrested for lacking working visas and are believed to be victims of a different human trafficking ring.
"Allegedly Bodong, Concrete Factory Stands in Tourism Area" from Bali Express (Indonesian): If you pass through the Ida Bagus Mantra Bypass area, it will be very easy to find a number of concrete factories. However, recently, a concrete factory was observed to have been built on Jalan Raya Siyut, Gianyar District/Regency. And it turns out that the factory is not licensed alias bogus. Moreover, the factory was built in a tourism zone. Based on the information gathered in the field, even without a permit or fake, the concrete factory is still operating. Where this concrete factory makes concrete for the construction of the Sanur pier, South Denpasar District... Regent of Gianyar, I Made Mahayastra said said that the concrete factories could no longer be used as a reference to win the tender. And according to him, the permit was not issued because the southern Gianyar area is a tourism area. Moreover, many villas and hotels are lined up in the area. It's just that they can't immediately close the business. "Yeah, come on, commanding is hard you know. You can't set when, it needs to be given, because they also participate in the success of the development project in Gianyar," said Mahayastra.
"The Director General of Perdaglu Becomes A Cooking Oil Corruption Suspect" from Bali Post (Indonesian): The Director General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Trade (Dirjen Perdaglu of the Ministry of Trade) Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana (IWW) has been named a suspect. He is suspected of being involved in the alleged corruption case of crude palm oil (CPO) which caused a shortage of cooking oil. "There are four suspects. First, an echelon 1 official at the Ministry of Trade named IWW (namely) the Director General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Trade," said Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin... The Attorney General's Office (AGO) named IWW as a suspect for having issued export approvals related to CPO commodities and its derivative products to Permata Hijau Group, PT Wilmar Nabati Indonesia, PT Multimas Nabati Asahan, and PT Musim Mas.
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Other Headlines
"All Disaster Sirens in Bali Beep on April 26, 2022" from Radar Bali (Indonesian): Regional Secretary for the Province of Bali, Dewa Indra, said the gongs/sirens/bells related to the disaster will ring on April 26, 2022, simultaneously at 10:00 WITA. This is based on a circular letter in order to build preparedness to face the threat of disasters as well as commemorate Disaster Preparedness Day (HKB) which falls every April 26.
"Fulfilling Friends' Last Request, Singaraja Transgender Group Dances Joged" from Bali Express (Indonesian): The solidarity of transgender groups in Singaraja cannot be doubted. Anything will be done to fulfill the responsibilities and welfare of its members. Like the solidarity action that was carried out on Monday (18/4). This transgender group was coordinated by Mami Siska. A transvestite from the Tegal Mawar neighborhood, Banjar Bali Village, Buleleng District. Mami Siska along with several other waria members happily danced at the funeral of one of their members who died of illness... The dancing dance at Tika's funeral is not just a form of solidarity. However, it is called the wish of the deceased when it is seen through a smart person. “When metuun, the deceased asked to be danced. So we make sure again to his family is true or not. So that you don't think about it, how come people grieve even mejogedan. And it turned out to be true, we finally joined in to dance, to take Tika to her final resting place," he said.
Tourism Update
"Klungkung Regent Suwirta: No Other Charges To Tourists in Nusa Penida" from Suara Bali (Indonesian): The Regent of Klungkung, Bali , I Nyoman Suwirta wants taka and levies double levies and illegal fees that are not in accordance with local regulations (perda) in Nusa Penida. He emphasized that tourists only pay once and can enjoy all the destinations in Nusa Penida. "There are no other levies to tourists, other than official levies from the government. It is clear in the circular to every village, there should be no other levies on tourist destinations," said Suwirta. Currently, the retribution collection process, which has been carried out outside the port, will be returned to the port as before the pandemic.
More...
Nation: "Govt allows higher airfares in response to fuel price hike" from The Jakarta Post (Paywall)
Nation: "Garuda Indonesia prepares 855,000 seats for Eid 2022" from Antara (Indonesian)
Badung: "There is only one bar on Seseh Mengwi Beach, the others are not given permission for this reason" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
Badung: "Kemenparekraf will launch 'side events' for tourism at G20 2022" from Antara (Indonesian)
Karangasem: "Pier 1 [At] Padangbai Repaired" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
NTB: "Three million people are predicted to return to NTB during Eid" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
Covid Developments
"99 in 100 People in Indonesia Have Covid-19 Antibodies" from The Jakarta Globe: More than 99% of the Indonesian population already has antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, from vaccination and natural infections, a government serology survey in March finds. The survey result reflects the significant immune protection the country's population now has against the existing variants of the virus. It also lends support to the government policies for loosening its pandemic restrictions ahead of the weeklong Idul Fitri holiday. That increased from 88.6% in December, when the government first conducted the nationwide survey.
More...
Province: "PPKM In Bali Still Continuing [for 2 Weeks], Here's the Schedule" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
Business, Economy & Infrastructure
"Bank Indonesia holds rate, lowers GDP growth forecast" from The Jakarta Post (Paywall): Bank Indonesia (BI) decided on Tuesday to hold its benchmark interest rate at 3.5% and lower its gross domestic product growth forecast for Indonesia. Following a two-day governors' meeting, the central bank also decided to keep the lending rate and deposit rate at 4.25 and 2.75%, respectively. BI downgraded the GDP growth forecast to 4.5 to 5.3% from 4.7 to 5.5% as the Ukraine war stymies export growth and surging food and energy prices limits spending.
More...
Nation: "Indonesian plant-based meat producer bags $1.7m seed funding" from TechInAsia
Nation: "Trade Between Indonesia and the US Increases Significantly, Reaches 37 Billion US Dollars" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
Jembrana: "Jembrana Distributes Rp 1.5 Billion [Cocoa] bailout" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
NTB: "Remittances to NTB Reach Rp1 Trillion, Here's How It's Used" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
NTB: "Coconut Cooking Oil Producers Proposed to Get Subsidies from the State Budget" from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
"Expat Olympic swimmer and wife ordered to return for $1.95m fraud trial" from The Sydney Morning Herald: Former Olympic swimmer Neil Brooks and his wife have been ordered to appear back in Australia for an alleged $1.95 million fraud case against them, despite being unvaccinated and unable to cross the border. Brooks, who was previously granted bail on condition that he live at his overseas residence, was accused of making dishonest representations about the success of a sports clothes manufacturing business, of which he was director, to induce a couple to buy 50% of the company. The Brooks were arrested in late 2017 when they flew separately into Australia but have remained overseas in accordance with their bail condition. They were last listed as residing in Bali.
Of Interest
"Three Dead After Alfamart Store Collapses in South Kalimantan" from The Jakarta Globe
"British foreigner hangs himself" from Bali Puspa News (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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