April 8, 2022
Govt extends Idul Fitri holiday, will now run Apr. 29 - May 6 + More new tech taxes coming, this time on P2P lending & e-wallets + Russians dominate new arrivals since reopening, staying longer + more
Good morning!
Welcome to The Bali Beat for Friday, April 8. In today’s edition we see that President Widodo has eliminated the working days of May 2-3 that were in the middle of the Idul Fitri holidays that he had declared on Wednesday. Yet another tax on high tech was announced yesterday; this time levies will be laid on P2P & e-wallet transactions. And as the war in Ukraine raged on last month, Russians were the #1 group of foreigners to arrive in Bali, and there are reports of them extending their stays after they arrive. 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
"Government declares four additional Idul Fitri leave days" from The Jakarta Post: The government has declared May 2 and 3 national Idul Fitri holidays, alongside mandatory collective leave on April 29 and May 4 to 6, an arrangement that will see many offices closed for the whole first week of May. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called on Indonesians to use the holiday to gather with family and friends while maintaining health protocol discipline. “We must all keep cautious. Equip yourselves with booster vaccinations, keep implementing health protocols and keep your masks on in public areas or when in large groups of people,” Jokowi said on Wednesday.
Context: This is a reversal of a reversal. As we noted yesterday, Muhadjir Effendy, Minister for Human Development and Culture, had announced that the holiday would run from April 29 - May 9 (including weekends), only to be forced to issue a retraction and an apology before President Widodo made his statement that the days off would be April 29 and May 4-6. The government has not yet changed its estimate of 85 million people traveling for holiday in light of the new extended dates.
"Govt to start taxing P2P lending, e-wallet services" from The Jakarta Post: Indonesia is to start imposing taxes on services provided by fintech companies starting May 1 in the hope of leveling the playing field with conventional financial companies. The tax comprises income tax on interest generated through peer-to-peer (P2P) lending services and value added tax (VAT) for commission, fees and cuts obtained by other fintech services like payment gateways, digital wallets, e-money, settlement on investment and insurance technology (insurtech), among many others.
Context: This announcement follow on the heels of the unveiling of a new tax on crypto trades and a rise in the national sales tax (VAT) to 11%.
"Most from Russia, Foreign Tourist Visits to Bali Skyrocketed by Tens of Thousands of Percent" from Bali Express (Indonesian): Foreign tourists who came directly to Bali Province in February 2022 were recorded as 1,310 visits. This figure has increased by tens of thousands of percent compared to the previous month's period of 3 visits. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Bali Province noted that tourists from Russia dominated the arrival of foreign tourists to Bali in February 2022 with a total of 239 visits. Followed by the United States with 124 visits, Australia with 116 visits, Britain with 94 visits, Germany with 94 visits, France with 87 visits, the Netherlands with 73 visits, Ukraine with 35 visits, Italy with 33 visits, Singapore 28 visits, and 387 of the other countries.
Context: The news of Russians dominating Bali's new arrivals since reopening comes as reports are spreading online of Russians already here extending their stays.
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Other Headlines
"Staple food prices to keep rising during April: BPS" from Antara: The prices of staple food commodities, such as cooking oil, red chili, chicken meat, and eggs, will continue to increase throughout April, Head of Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Margo Yuwono, stated here on Thursday. "This study used big data, and until April 5, an upward trend (was observed) for these three commodities," Yuwono remarked. BPS noted that the price of cooking oil had skyrocketed again in early April, although its average price had decreased in March 2022. "This has high potential to cause an inflation hike in April. There is also an increasing demand during the fasting (month) and Eid al-Fitr as well as government policies that potentially cause inflation," he explained.
"About Mysterious People Giving Candy to Students, Bali DPRD Asks All Parties to Supervise Schools" from Tribune Bali (Indonesian): The head of the Tabanan Education Office, I Gusti Ngurah Putu Darma Utama, admitted that he had received a number of reports from the school that an unknown person had entered SDN 8 Sanggulan, Kediri District, Tabanan. In addition, the unknown person also visited students to give souvenirs, as happened in Ubud, Gianyar. "There is a report from the school that the unknown person entered the school with candy, bracelets and so on," said Darma Utama. Member of Commission IV DPRD Bali, Made Rai Warsa, asked the relevant officers to conduct an inspection related to the ingredients used to make the candy or cake and said that if the candy contained ingredients that could harm students, he requested that the perpetrators be prosecuted.
Context: These incidents are not related to the case we reported on yesterday of a man who was arrested to distributing cannabis-infused cookies to students in Denpasar.
Vaccination Update
Province: "Bali Task Force: Booster Vaccination Coverage Reaches 54.37%; Denpasar, Badung, and Tabanan more than 60%" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Denpasar: "357 People Take Booster Vaccinations in Padangsambian Village" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Jembrana: "Ahead of Lebaran, Jembrana Police Hold Vaccinations at the Mosque" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian)
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
"Indonesia applies QR Code for ensuring health protocol implementation" from Antara: The QR Code policy was a means to digitize documents of implementation of health protocols, which would -- upon its application -- synchronize global health protocols used in various countries. The Health Ministry also initiated the use of a universal vaccine certificate verification system that complies with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, she stated. The universal verifier is a special portal capable of reading vaccine certificate data from other countries. "With this system, digital certificates of travelers’ vaccines can be (recognized) in other countries. This portal has been tested in 19 G20 countries and received positive responses," a government spokesperson remarked.
Economy & Infrastructure
"Equipped with Underground Parking, [New] Ubud Market is Grand and Thematic Design" from Bali Post (Indonesian): Ubud Market will be revitalized. The design of the building is made magnificent and thematic, equipped with underground parking. This, said Head of the Regional Planning and Research and Development Agency of Gianyar Regency, Gede Widarma Suharta, to reduce traffic jams. The development of Ubud Market is part of the National Tourism Strategic Area (KSPN) structuring project in Ubud, Tegalalang, Payangan (Ulapan) whose funding source comes from the State Budget "In 2022, the Ubud Market development process will begin," he said.
More...
Nation: "ICP hits record high of US$113.50 per barrel in March" from Antara
Badung: "Southern Ring Road Development, Included in National Strategic Infrastructure Project" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
Klungkung: "Still Rare, Bulk Oil is Only Allotted for Housewives and SMEs" from Bali Post (Indonesian)
"HIV/AIDS Cases Haven't Dropped in Bali, By 2022 Reach 26,209 Sufferers" from Tribune Bali (Indonesian): Referring to the latest data from the Bali Provincial Health Office , cumulatively, the number of HIV cases from 1987-2022 in Bali has reached 26,209 people, consisting of 9,983 in the AIDS stage and 16,226 in the HIV stage. For 2022, from January to March, 153 people have been found, consisting of 63 people in the AIDS stage and 90 people in the HIV stage. "The more we find, the better. Because it's easier for us to treat. Just like Covid 19. The more they are found, the easier it is to control them," said Head of the Secretariat of the Bali Province AIDS Commission (KPA) AA Ngurah Patria Nugraha.
Tourism Update
"Tourism Association Reports Illegal Levies In Bali Tourist Spots To The Police" from The Bali Sun: The Head of HPPNP, I Putu Gede Suka Widana , confirmed that he has filed a report to the police concerning the illegal levies being collected from tourists. This is on top of the official levies that are collected by the Klungkung regional government. “Tourists are being required to pay illegal fees on top of the official levies. That’s what makes us concerned,” Widana said. Widana explained that he has received many complaints from the local tour guides and drivers as their customers were double charged upon entering tourist spots in Pejukutan Village, Nusa Penida. “This is really unethical, because visitors were unofficially charged for sightseeing,” Widana added.
More...
Province: "United States Threatens to Boycott G20 Meetings If Russian Officials Appear" from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
Province: "Foreign Tour Groups Return to Bali" from Bali Discovery
Province: "Emirates plans flights to Bali" from Antara (Indonesian)
Gianyar: "Starting Fasting, Visits at Bali Safari Marine Park Decreased 50 Percent" from Bali Puspsa News (Indonesian)
NTP: "Lombok Airport Booms During MotoGP 2022" from Bali Discovery
Weekend Reads
"Watch and learn: Portraying sexual, gender issues in Indonesian film" from The Jakarta Post
"Changing consumer habits lure travel titans into Indonesia’s food delivery space" from Tech In Asia
"Who killed the Berawa beach dogs?" from Coconuts
"The Euphoric Story of Bali United 2 Times Champion" from Radar Bali (Indonesian):
Of Interest
"Six Eastern Europeans deported from Bali over squatting in villa they claimed was ‘gift from God’" from Coconuts
"American Caucasian Found Hanging Himself in Hotel Room" from Bali Express (Indonesian)
"British man, 42, fights for life in Bali after crashing scooter into car door" from Metro UK
"Department of Agriculture Deploys a Team of Veterinarians to Respond to Dog Deaths in Berawa Beach" from Bali Prawara (Indonesian)
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