Ni Komang Erviani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Thu, 04/09/2009 7:48 PM  |  Election 2009

A widespread mix-up of ballots has marred the legislative elections Thursday in Bali, as officials at polling stations in Denpasar municipality and seven other regencies experienced an early morning shock after finding out the ballots at their stations were actually designated for other constituencies.

Klungkung is the only regency that did not report such an incident.

“We haven’t received any report [of a mix-up] from Klungkung  yet. The mix-up occurred at eight out of nine election regions in the island,” Bali General Elections Commission (KPUD) head Lanang Perbawa Sukawati said Thursday afternoon. [Read more →]

Ni Komang Erviani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Wed, 04/08/2009 3:48 PM  |  Bali

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has urged the central government to allocate the province a larger portion of the national tourism revenue since it contributed more than 30 percent of the total income.

[Read more →]

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Ni Komang Erviani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Tue, 04/07/2009 2:29 PM  |  Bali

The number of people who will abstain from voting in the 2009 general elections will increase to 20 percent of total eligible voters, up more than five percent from 14.5 percent of non-voters in the 2004 elections, several political analysts have said.

Nyoman Subanda, dean of political science at the National Education University in Denpasar, believes that that the percentage of non-voters will be even higher than 20 percent.

“During the recent elections for governor, 24.5 percent of voters did not give their voices. In my opinion, such a condition will occur in the coming legislative election.”

Subanda identified a number of reasons that might prevent people from going to the voting booths including cultural, technical and logistical.

On Thursday (voting day), Balinese Hindus will observe one of the most sacred events, Bethara Turun Kabeh (The Gods’ Visit on Earth), which takes place on the tenth full moon of the Balinese lunar calendar at the Besakih Mother Temple in Karangasem regency.

“Technically, many obstacles have occurred including unregistered voters, people being unable to leave workplaces and a lock of information on how to vote,” he said.

Most ineligible voters will be prevented because of technical and administrative reasons. “In Bali, people rarely find that they become non-voters because of their ideological or political grounds. ”

Subanda also said that many people would not vote because they do not know who the right candidates are. He said that there are many candidates running for legislative seats, but that people do not have any idea about their personalities, achievements or their programs.

Anak Agung Gde Oka Wisnumurti, former chairman of the Bali General Elections Commission, is of the same opinion and said that technical issues and administrative problems could severely affect the number of non-voters on the island.

Bali has seen an increasing trend of vote absenteeism. The rate in the 2004 legislative elections was 14.5 percent, rising to 18.5 percent in the 2004 presidential election. The recent gubernatorial election saw an abstention rate of 24.5 percent.

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Ni Komang Erviani ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Fri, 04/03/2009 2:19 PM  |  Bali

In a move praised by Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika, Bali Police have officially named Made Sujana, a tax collector at the Bali Revenue Agency, as a suspect in a graft case.

Spokesman for the Bali Police Sr. Comr. Gde Sugianyar said Thursday that the suspect was arrested on March 25.

Made is being detained at the Bali Police detention facility.

“He has confessed to forging Underground Water Springs (ABT) tax invoices sent to companies utilizing underground water springs,” Sugianyar said.

“The suspect didn’t send the tax payments to the revenue agency.”

Detectives working on the case believe that Sujana has embezzled up to Rp 820 million (US$71,000) of tax payer’s money.

If found guilty Sujana faces a sentence of up to five years imprisonment.

The case was uncovered after the Bali provincial administration conducted an inspection of revenue intake from underground water and found that the suspect had forged tax invoices between January and December 2008.

Earlier on Wednesday Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said that he expected the police to investigate the case thoroughly.

“I’m asking Bali Police to further investigate to find any other perpetrators possibly related to the case,” Pastika said.

“How humiliating.a hotel paid Rp 10 million for underground water but the collecting officer saved it for himself and only left Rp 1 million for the office.”

“That is why we received just Rp 10 billion in underground water taxes in 2008 while we could have actually collected up to Rp 50 billion.”

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Ni Komang Erviani ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  DENPASAR   |  Tue, 03/31/2009 10:14 AM  |  Election 2009

This year’s general elections may be the most troubled yet, not only because of a flurry of last-minute changes in regulations but also because of the shifting of responsibility from the government to the General Elections Commission (KPU), says a researcher.

“The government’s apparent unwillingness to provide clear guidance to the KPU has shifted the burden of responsibility to unelected officials … and has created potential for a great deal of post-election disputation and uncertainty,” Stephen Sherlock, a consultant at the Australia-based Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI), said Monday at a meeting here. [Read more →]

Ni Komang Erviani ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  KARANGASEM|  Sat, 03/21/2009 2:23 PM  |  The Archipelago

It was still early morning on Friday when Ni Luh Putu Sriyani left her house in Kerobokan village, Badung regency, to got to work at a private hospital on Jl. Gatot Subroto in Denpasar.

But unlike the other days, Sriyani was wearing a traditional kebaya blouse and carried a small traditional knife in her purse.

Together with her colleagues, Sriyani headed to Besakih temple, the largest in Bali, located in Karangasem regency.

The temple – located on the foothill of Mt. Agung, the highest mountain in Bali – was already busy with preparations for the once-in-a-decade Panca Wali Krama ritual, which will be held April 9, coinciding with voting day for the legislative elections.

Sriyani and her friends are performing ngayah to help prepare for the rare festival.

Ngayah or ngaturang ayah could be described as the practice of voluntarily working together for a customary or religious event. It is part Balinese societies strong sense of tradition.

Each person performs a voluntary duty according to his or her ability.

Sriyani decided to contribute her majejahitan skills and created various ceremonial objects from janur, or young coconut leaves.

Her co-worker Eka Wardani meanwhile brought a long a sapu lidi (broom made of coconut leaf bones) to sweep the pura yard.

For them taking part in preparing for Panca Wali Krama is a source of pride.

“I’m glad that I can help,” Sriyani quipped.

While Eka said she was happy to help, “although I could not do much,” she added modestly.

Hundreds of other Balinese Hindu contributed what they could on Friday to prepare for the festival, which will reach its peak on March 25 and April 9.

Organizing Committee Chairman I Wayan Gunatra said between 500 and 700 people from various parts of Bali had been coming to the temple everyday since Feb. 13.

“During weekends the volunteers can easily reach thousands of people,” he said.

Devotees not only contribute their skills but also what they can materially. The committee has received cash and goods worth a total of Rp 347 million (US$29,500) as of Friday.

Meanwhile, the Bali provincial administration has allocated some Rp 1.6 billion for a series of ceremonies which will end on April 24.

Gunatra, who is also the bendesa (customary leader) for Besakih, said volunteers had helped the committee a great deal, as carrying out all of its duties on its own would be impossible.

Panca Wali Krama, a ceremony believed to be able to cleanse the universe from all negative forces, requires massive amounts of ceremony paraphernalia in the form of flowers, janur, bamboo and other crops.

“The ngayah voluntary duty symbolizes a human’s devotion to the Almighty One as well as ensures the ceremony’s success,” Gunatra said.

Ni Komang Erviani , THE JAKARTA POST , DENPASAR | Wed, 03/11/2009 2:04 PM | Bali

Almost half of the candidates for the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) representing Bali have yet to submit their wealth reports even though Wasti Atmodjo of the central KPU had set last Monday as the deadline for doing so.

The Bali General Elections Commission (KPUD) member, Dewa Raka Sandi, said Tuesday there were 13 out of 30 candidates who had yet to submit their reports. [Read more →]

Ni Komang Erviani , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Tue, 03/10/2009 4:31 PM | Bali

Women’s rights activists across Bali celebrated International Women’s Day on Sunday by urging the public to vote for female candidates in the upcoming legislative elections.

Held at the Bajra Sandhi Monument in Renon, Denpasar, the celebration was attended by activists from various organizations, including Mitra Kasih, Bali Sruti, Woman Caucus, the Inter-Party Women Forum and the Women’s Organization Cooperation Body (BKOW).

Carrying banners reading “Let’s Vote for Women” and “No Woman, No Change”, the activists distri-buted 1,000 T-shirts and flyers to passing motorists and those in attendance. [Read more →]

Ni Komang Erviani , THE JAKARTA POST , KLUNGKUNG,BALI | Sun, 03/08/2009 9:18 AM | Headlines

Bali has been billed as one of the world’s top spiritual tourism destinations, but its potential has yet to be fully tapped, a seminar heard Saturday.

Wayan Wijayasa, an industry observer from the Denpasar Tourism Academy, said the fact was, spiritual tourism was already blooming in Bali. [Read more →]

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THE JAKARTA POST, Sat, 03/07/2009 2:19 PM  |  Bali

The current global financial crisis is hindering efforts to alleviate poverty in Indonesia, with the number of poor people expected to rise well above the government’s predictions, the Social Services Ministry’s secretary-general Chazali Situmorang said Thursday.

Speaking at a dissemination session for the 2009 social empowerment program at the Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel, Chazali quoted an estimate by the National Development Planning Board that number of poor people was set to increase to 33.714 million, far more than the government’s estimate of 32.38 million. [Read more →]