Monday, October 12
Imigrasi publishes new rules for e-visas + Island passes 10,000 confirmed cases + Local police brace for more labor law protests today + Landslides kill 1 & wreak havoc across island + more!
Good morning! Welcome to The Bali Beat for Monday, October 12. If you’re not a subscriber, sign up here to get this update delivered directly to your Inbox every Monday-Saturday morning, along with each evening’s Covid-19 update. If you are already a subscriber, thank you! Please be sure to share it with others in the foreigner community on the island by clicking the button below.
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Weather & Waves
Today’s Weather for Southern Bali
Today’s Tides
Surf Outlook
Weather forecast from Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology & Geophysics Council (Link)
Tide table from Tide-forecast.com.
Surf outlook via Windy.com.
Local Covid Numbers
*NOTE: The number of positive cases detected in Bali since the start of the pandemic passed 10,000 over the weekend. Click here to see the national numbers infographic and a Regency-by-Regency breakdown of yesterday’s local numbers, as well as a look back at last week’s overall totals.
The Big News
IMMIGRATION UPDATE: Imigrasi has released the official translation of their circular concerning “Visa and Stay Permit[s] In the New Normal,” which spells out the regulations surrounding overseas applications for the new e-Visas. You can find it on Imigrasi’s website here. Still no word on exactly when these will be made available, but per their previous announcement, their online visa application system will be down through today for upgrading- presumably to prepare for the new e-Visa process.
JOBS LAW UPDATE: The media did not carry any reports of protests over the weekend, but word is that they will restart today, and Bali Police are preparing. In the meantime, new details have emerged from Thursday’s and Friday’s unrest. Police announced that a total of 5,918 demonstrators were arrested all across the country (though there were no arrests in Bali), with 87 in Jakarta having been named as suspects for possible prosecution. The Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of Violence and the Jakarta Ombudsman have logged thousands of complaints of police brutality at last week’s demonstrations, and the Alliance of Independent Journalists says that at least 7 journalists were attacked by police. The governors of six major provinces, West Kalimantan, West Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, West Sumatra, and South Sumatra, have announced their opposition to the new law. (No word from Governor Koster yet, though labor groups are lobbying regional legislatures.) Meanwhile, President Widodo has said that opposition to the new law is based on fake news, though foreign business groups have begun to release statements saying that it will benefit them. The police have been repeating the president’s “fake news” claim, moving rights groups to accuse them of trying to intimidate protesters. And finally, the Education Minister is encouraging students to not join the protests, telling them that it is "more elegant to do academic research than rally," while the Association for Education and Teachers has denounced the call, saying that the government must not be “allergic” to protests against the law.
"Family Buried By Landslide in Bali" from The Bali Sun: Heavy rains caused landslides on hilly areas in Bali over the weekend. A family in Rendang, Karangasem was buried under the mud one of the landslides on Saturday. Head of Rendang Police Department, Kompol Made Sudartawan said that the landslide that happened in his territory caused the death to a 86-year-old woman named Wayan Beji a.k.a Grandma Windya after being buried under the mud and materials of her house. 57-year-old, I Ketut Misi was also there during the incident and suffered serious injuries but did survive.
(Ed. Note: Heavy rains heralding the end of the dry season this weekend have brought landslides across the island, causing injuries and damage in Bangli, Klungkung, and Tabanan, where the local Disaster Management Agency recorded 58 incidents and Rp. 1 billion in damage done- including a flood in Banjar Sanggulan that submerged homes and displaced 24 families. The rains also caused a wall to collapse around Bangli Prison, which has placed all inmates on lockdown as a result; and a local teacher in Badung has gone missing after he was swept away by a fast-rising river.)
>> Classifieds <<
AMERICANS ABROAD - CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE NOVEMBER ELECTION! We are 5 volunteers helping Americans vote from here since 2002. Due to mail delays you NEED TO START NOW, so CLICK HERE. And yes, we provide individual help too. Please VOTE; it’s so important this year!
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Other Headlines
"People Who Use Masks Get Prizes" from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): A joint patrol of 30 officers from Dandim 1617 and the Jembrana Police, in addition to issuing sanctions to people who were not wearing masks, distributed gifts to a number of residents who orderly wore masks. The "door prizes" included masks, hand sanitizers, and body ion-enhancing packaged drinks. A number of prizes were specifically given to a number of two-wheeled and four-wheeled riders who were caught wearing masks correctly. "The door prize is an appreciation for those who are orderly. The hope is that they are always orderly anytime, anywhere. It reminds others to always follow health protocols in an orderly manner,” said Dandim Lt. Col. Inf Hasrifuddin Haruna.
"Kembali 2020: A Rebuild Bali Festival" from Bali Discovery: The 2020 digitalized version of The Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) – ‘Kembali 2020: A Rebuild Bali Festival (KEMBALI20) will take place “globally” from a virtual headquarter in Ubud, Bali, 29 October until 08 November 2020... KEMBALI20 will host 100 storytellers and culinary figures who will digitally join intimate discussions and powerful performances from 29 October – 8 November from their respective locations worldwide. Details of the program are available via the Festival Website www.UbudWritersFestival.com.
"Ngurah Rai Airport Serves 5.2 million Passengers Through Third Quarter" from Antara (Indonesian): 5,223,099 passengers were transported through 43,703 aircraft movements from January to the end of September 2020, below the number of passengers and aircraft movements in the same period in 2019 which saw 17,844,690 passengers and 114,631 aircraft movements [declines of 70% and 62%, respectively]... "Even though the chart is still red, in September we still recorded a growth in the number of passengers and aircraft movements compared to the record in August," said said General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai, Bali, Herry AY Sikado. During September 2020 there were 177,620 passengers in and out of Bali via 2,580 airplanes. When compared with the record in August with a record of 174,462 passengers and 2,385 aircraft movements, there is a growth of 2% respectively for passenger movements, and 8% for aircraft movements.
"Blood Stock in Tabanan Decreased by 40%" from The IDN Times (Indonesian): Head of UTD PMI Tabanan, Dr. IN Gede Sumardika SpPK, explained that compared to 2019, the blood stock in 2020 was reduced by 30% to 40%. Blood stock in 2019 recorded 5,500 blood bags for all groups or an average of about 458 blood bags collected per month. Only 274 to 320 bags of blood per month have been collected by PMI during the pandemic. Tabanan requires 6,000 blood bags every year. According to Sumardika, the drop in blood stocks was due to reduced blood donations.
"Gojek’s Game Plan to Modernize Warungs" from Tech In Asia: Gojek has become the latest Indonesian unicorn to enter the warung digitization space by rolling out its GoToko service. Gurnoor Singh Dhillon, the new unit’s CEO, points out that there are 3 million warungs in the country, but around 2.5 million of these mom and pop shops are still “underserved.” GoToko aims to support the growth of warungs by boosting their income and reducing their costs, according to Dhillon. It plans to offer them consistent access to a wide range of products, competitive and transparent pricing, and “seamless and timely” deliveries... For Gojek, its expertise in same-day delivery could be instrumental in encouraging warung owners to order through an app. “This is crucial as most underserved retailers in Indonesia have limited cash flow and require frequent replenishment of inventory,” notes Dhillon.
How You Can Help
In response to the collapse of the tourism sector in Bali and the resulting economic crisis, dozens of individuals and organizations have sprung into action, raising funds and distributing badly needed food and everyday essentials to the innumerable families who have suddenly found themselves without any source of income. We've been making an effort to document and raise awareness of these efforts. We will add information on projects in this space as we are able to confirm them. If you'd like to see a list of the efforts that we've featured so far and contribute to them with either time or money, visit our complete list here. You can also see a list of projects that have registered themselves at BaliSolidarity.org. If you know of an effort and would like to have them listed, please send their information to newsletter@migrationmedia.net.
About This Newsletter
This newsletter is a product of Migration Media, the hub for stories from and about the international migrant experience.
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