February 23, 2022
Alleged visa mafia investigation underway, immigration officers “unlikely to be involved” + Gov’t tells mosques to become quieter + There are still 7,978 hotel rooms available in Lombok + more
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Weather & Tides
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
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National Figures
Local Figures
The Big News
“Alleged Visa Mafia Investigation Underway” from Antara: The Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights conducted an investigation on several travel agents regarding alleged visa mafias targeting foreign tourists entering the Indonesian territory. "The visa mafias allegedly changed the visa price, and this has become our cause for concern. We have dispatched a team to several travel agents, and we are still investigating this matter," Head of the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Jamaruli Manihuruk said on Tuesday. "Until now, we have not received any reports of rogue travel agents, and we will continue to monitor the progress in visa applications through travel agents in Bali," Manihuruk noted.
Context: The chance of Bali immigration officers being involved in any visa mafia has been described as unlikely (Indonesian).
“Gov’t Tells Mosques to Become Quieter” from The Jakarta Globe: The Religious Affairs Ministry has issued a regulation that calls mosques to reduce the volume of their speakers and specifies the limit of the noise level. Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said on Tuesday the regulation aims to “promote inter-community order and harmony”. The ministerial decree was signed on February 18 and should become a guideline on the use of speakers in mosques across the country, Yaqut said. It limits the noise level from mosque speakers to 100 decibels. During the dawn prayer, external speakers can be used for 10 minutes for a recitation from the Koran and the call for prayer. During four other Muslim praying times, the use of external speakers is limited to five minutes. The decree has the support from the country’s two biggest Muslim organizations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama.
Context: Not all agree with the decision (Indonesian). As a point of reference, the noise of an aircraft engine on takeoff can reach 140 decibels, while at one metre a vuvuzela horn can emit 120 decibels of vuvuzelling.
“Ahead of MotoGP Mandalika, There Are Still 7,978 Hotel Rooms Available” from Antara Bali (Indonesian): The West Nusa Tenggara Tourism Office noted that 7,978 hotel rooms are still available in the area ahead of the MotoGP event at the Mandalika Circuit on March 18-20. Head of the NTB Tourism Office, Yusron Hadi, on Tuesday said the number of 7,978 lodging rooms is around 45% of the total 23,889 rooms. "So once again, lodging in Lombok is still available with many choices of rooms and locations to stay," he said. Yusron detailed that of the 7,978 rooms that have not been occupied, these are spread over five city districts and are five-star hotels. Among them, 1,135 star hotels are dominantly located in Gili Tramena (Trawangan, Meno and Air).
Context: In related news, a maximum tariff has been set (Indonesian) on hotel rooms to avoid price gouging during the race. In Bali, Karangasem hotels remains hopeful of seeing some business (Indonesian) as a result of the claimed insufficient rooms on Lombok.
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Other Headlines
“Dozens of Wild Racing Motorcyclists Secured by Police” from Suara Bali (Indonesian): Dozens of motorcycles from wild racing action and exhaust brong in the area of Serangan Village, Denpasar were secured by Denpasar police. These motorcycles come from the pursuit of wild racing actors that many young people in the region do. It also disrupts the activities of residents and endangers other road users who will go to Serangan Village, South Denpasar. "So there are 19 units of motorcycles using brong exhaust and three units of motorcycles without papers," said Kasi Public Relations Of Denpasar Police Iptu I Ketut Sukadi on Monday. The area of attack becomes attention due to often found the activity of gathering and crowding young people, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wild racing is also common in the region.
Vaccination Update
“Indonesia Shortens Vaccine Booster Interval for Elderly to 3 Months” from Tempo: Indonesia’s Health Ministry decided to shorten the time gap between the second and third dose of vaccine boosters for the elderly at age 60 and above through the circular of the ministry’s Director-General of Disease Prevention and Control No. SR.02.06/II/1123/2022. "Previously, the booster shot is given at least six months [after the primary vaccination course]. Starting today, the booster dose for the elderly can be given at an interval of at least three months after completing the primary vaccination course,” said the ministry’s spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, on Tuesday.
Health Protocols (Prokes) & Health Services
“Covid-19 Task Force Strategizes to Handle Spike in Cases” from Antara: The National COVID-19 Handling Task Force implemented several strategies to handle a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases ranging from activating the role of Behavior Change Ambassadors to distributing free masks to the public. "In the last two months, we have recruited 28,687 new Behavior Change Ambassadors throughout Indonesia," Head of Behavior Change for the National COVID-19 Handling Task Force Sonny Harry B. Harmadi said on Tuesday. Until now, some 163,113 Behavior Change Ambassadors are spread across 502 districts and cities across Indonesia, Harmadi said.
More...
Nation: “38% of ICU, Isolation Rooms Occupied by Covid-19 Patients Says Ministry” from Antara
Nation: “Daily Covid-19 Cases Subside Nationally” from Antara
Nation: “Event Industry Players Ask for PPKM to End Immediately” from Bisnis Bali (Indonesian)
Economy & Infrastructure
“Indonesia Aims to Put 2 Million Electric Vehicles on Indonesian Roads” from Antara: President Joko Widodo has said his government is targeting to put at least two million electric vehicles on the road by 2025. "The target is two million electric vehicles to be used by Indonesians and will continue to the export market," he said on Tuesday. To support the development of the electric vehicle industry, it is hoped that electric battery factories with a large production capacity can be completed soon in Indonesia, the President said. Moreover, the electric vehicle ecosystem is one of the main foundations for environmental preservation because such vehicles do not cause pollution, Widodo said.
Context: For a more in-depth look at the environmental impact of electric cars, the following story is a good primer—unlike their lack of emissions, the environmental impact of mining for some of the raw materials required for their batteries has been described as especially problematic. In related news, the President has said that 80% of the vehicles in the new capital will be mass transport and people should not move there if they like fossil-fuel cars.
More...
Nation: “State Income Up 54.9% YOY in Jan: Finance Minister” from Antara
Nation: “Producers to Make Smaller-sized Tempehs Following Soybean Price Hike” from Antara
Nation: “Google Logs 21 Million New Indonesian Internet Users in 2021” from Antara
Nation: “Police Supports Insurance Requirement to Obtain Police Documents” from Antara
Karangasem: “IDR 770 Million Spent, Pura Agung Besakih Restructuring Reaches 36%” from Detik (Indonesian)
Klungkung: “Dozens of Nusa Ceningan Residents Give Up Their Land for Road Widening” from Radar Bali (Indonesian)
Education
“MOU Signed, Karangasem Soon Has a College” from Bali Puspa News (Indonesian): The Regent of Karangasem, I Gede Dana signed a joint agreement with the Bali State Polytechnic (PNB), related to the Tri Dharma Implementation Improvement program of Higher Education in Karangasem Regency. "Hopefully the MoU that we agreed to can immediately realize the dream of our community having its own College," said Regent Gede Dana. According to Gede Dana, closer access to education will affect the increasing quality of education in Karangasem amid the decline of the global economy. Therefore, he does not want to be constrained by tuition fees outside the area, making the community reluctant to continue their education until the college.
Bali Reopening
“Sandiaga Wants Bali Blockchain Conference to Open New Business Opportunities” from CNNIndonesia (Indonesian): Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm of the public to welcome the world of cryptocurrency which has a direct impact on the search for blockchain technology. In the Bali Blockchain Conference at BNDCC, Nusa Dua, Sandiaga said that the enthusiasm also showed the spirit of the revival of the creative economy sector, especially from MSMEs in Indonesia. "Bali Blockchain opens opportunities for us to bridge not only the upper middle class, but MSMEs with Blockchain technology can participate. Moreover, conferences like this, become a warm-up for other activities in Bali, as part of a program that is right to target on benefits and on time," Sandiaga said on Tuesday.
More...
“Nusa Lembongan Tourism Is Ready to Welcome Tourists” from Antara Bali (Indonesian)
Of Interest
“Eight Children Dead after Fatal Fire at West Java Islamic School” from The Jakarta Globe
“In Asia, Private Jets Are Taking Off, With Customers Preferring Larger Jets” from CNA
“Suspected Bryde Whale Carcass Washed Up on Pesut Beach” from Detik (Indonesian)
“Sungai Watch Collects 333 Tons of Plastic Waste in Bali From October 2020-2021” from Merdeka (Indonesian)
“West Lombok Man Buys Replica FI Car, Disappointed Not Allowed to Drive on Track” from Suara Bali (Indonesian)
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