Beritabali.com reports PT Maximus Bali, the management company for the Smart C-151 Resort in Seminyak, has been accused of default before the Denpasar Bali courts. The legal proceeding has been brought to law in Bali by one of fourteen foreign owners of villas at the C-151 complex said to be displeased with the management of their properties.

Of the villa owners, 13 have chosen to try to settle their claims abroad. However, one of the owners, John Mark Winders, has elected to bring his case before the Denpasar District Court.

The case was commenced before the court on Monday, September 12, 2011. The legal counsel for the 14 villa owners, Fredrik J. Pinakurnary, told the press that the remaining 13 villa owners were filing claims using different legal avenues. He said there were owners seeking settlement via the Singapore International Arbitrage Center (SIAC) while others are using the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

The suit against the managers of Smart C-151 villas dates from 2007 when Winders was attracted to advertisements offering the C-151 villas in Seminyak.

At that time, Winders purchased a villa unit with a price of US$450,000. According to his lawyer, other foreign investors originating from Australia, Holland, the U.S.A. and the U.K. also made similar purchases.

Said Pinakurnary, “because the promotional brochures promised professional villa management, the foreign investors were drawn to the project.”

Winders and the remaining 13 foreign investors purchased villas and signed working agreements with PT Maximus Bali. That agreement stipulated that the Indonesian company has the right to undertake promotion to persuade tourist visitors to Bali to rent the villas. Maximus Bali was to, in turn, pay a fee to the villa owners each year.

Over time, the attorney claims, the 14 foreign villa owners learned that other owners at the C-151 Complex were not required to pay the same high fees demanded of them by Maximus Bali. Claiming unfair treatment, Maximus Bali told the disgruntled villa owners that each villa owner at C-151 had a separate and different management arrangement.

Pinakurnary claims the 14 villa owners were treated in a discriminatory manner and, moreover, that Maximus Bali has also been negligent in handling the required income taxes due on the units.

Winders claims before the Denpasar District Court claims he has suffered losses of US$177,466 – an amount said to be roughly equivalent to the losses suffered by the remaining 13 villa owners. Winders is asking the court to compensate the losses and for Maximus Bali to be removed as the manager of the villa.

The National News Agency Antara says PT Jasa Marga is scheduled to begin construction of the Serangan-Tanjung-Bali toll way in November 2011.

“The 10 kilometer long toll way, if there are no further obstacles, will commence construction in November of this year,” confirmed the Managing Director of PT Jasa Marga, Frans S. Sunito.

He went on to explain that that the consortium project between five state-owned companies valued at RP. 1.8 trillion (US$200 million) is only awaiting a final permit to be issued by the Minister of the Environment that will allow construction of the project over the protected mangrove areas of South Bali.

The project already holds the required permits from the President and strategic zoning permits.

Frans is concerned that if the project is not soon commenced it will not be ready in time for the APEC Summit scheduled in 2013.

The Jasa Marga official is confident that the elevated toll way will resolve the traffic congestion between Denpasar and Nusa Dua.

The chief of the National Toll Way Agency (BPJT), Ahmad Ghani Ghazali, confirmed to the press that that the last remaining step before construction of the toll way is the approval of the environmental impact study.

The consortium that will build the 10 kilometer toll way is comprised of PT Jasa Marga as the majority shareholder (60%), PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (20%), PT Angkasa Pura (10%) and the Bali Tourism Development Corporation (1%). Also holding minority shareholdings are PT Wijaya Karya (5%), PT Hutama Karya (2%) and PT Adhi Karya (2%) who have also won the tender to build the Serangan-Tanjung Benoa toll way.

After having spent US$11.5 million in the development of the Tanah Ampo International Cruise Terminal in East Bali, the government is now lamenting that unfriendly natural conditions at the port will require extra efforts, more money and much time to create a functional cruise facility.

Beritabali.com quotes source at the Ministry of Transportation who blame the open sea exposure of the port in the regency of Karangasem as making it “very difficult” to create the needed cruise pier.

A source at the Ministry, who wished to remain unnamed, said: “Natural condition which in this context means the large waves (are to blame). A floating pontoon installed in that location faces the potential of being smashed by strong waves and surf. The first floating pontoon installed there was destroyed by the sea conditions.”

The same source said that to realize a cruise piers at Tanah Ampo a breakwater would have to be installed.

In this connection, the head of Bali’s transportation department, Made Santha, said the problem of building cruise piers at Tanah Ampo in Karangasem is now being discussed with the Ministry of Transportation in Jakarta. “At the Ministry of Transportation a possible 70 meter extension of the current pier is being discussed in Jakarta. When the additional 70 meters is completed the Tanah Ampo pier will have a length of 225 meters. It would (however) be great is the pier can be increased 200% from its current length to allow ships of 200 meters to berth at the Tanah Ampo pier.”

Santha was unable to specify to the press when any extension of the current dock will commence.

A lengthening of the current pier will not in any way address the open sea conditions at the port that make berthing alongside by large cruise ships impossible when the waves became too large.

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[Tanah Ampo: Not Ready for Royalty]

[What’s Up, Doc?]

[Bali Cruise Ports Found Lacking]

[A Pier without Peer?]
 
[Anchors Aweigh at Bali's Tanah Ampo Port]
 
[Just Sitting on the Dock in the Bay, Wasting Time]
 
[Arrested Development]
 

A female resident of the Tunggak Bingin area of Sanur, Bali reports that she encountered  the fearsome and frightening countenance of “celuluk” (a supernatural goblin-like demon of the underworld) on Saturday night, September 11, 2011.

Beritabali.com reports that the woman, identified as only “Komang,” said she saw the celuluk at around 9 p.m. when she was delivering her older sibling “Kadek” to a residence in the areas of Tegal Bah Padangsambian, Denpasar.

Adi, a relation of the woman, said: “When it happened, Komang was taking her car out of the garage. At that moment she saw a 'celuluk' standing inform of the garages between a banana and a papaya tree.”

Komang described the celuluk as having black and white checkbox (poleng) legs and standing as tall as a normal person. Komang said she was so frightened that she was only brave enough to look at the creature from the waist down. After sighting the creature, Komang was said to have ran into her home while screaming hysterically.

Adi added: “Kadek was also screaming. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief; the more she rubbed her eyes the more the face of the celuluk same into view.”

After the incident both Komang and Kadek were too frightened to leave the house. Both insisted that they had clearly seen a celuluk.

In Bali where spirits are known to inhabit every home and local community, neighbors readily confirmed that there have been similar encounters in the area in the past. One local resident matter of factly  told the press of seeing a celuluk in Sindu Sanur between two large trees.

Similar stories abound in other parts of Bali. A series of celuluk sightings are also currently unsettling people living near Tabanan in West Bali. Facebook enthusiasts in Bali have been busy trading stories of celuluk sightings over the past week.

One week ago residents in Tabanan were reporting nightly encounters with celeluk. The first report was from the village of Pesagi in the Penebel region. This was followed by more reports from the region of Kerambitan. According to the press, many people in Tabanan are now apparently frightened to venture out in the evenings because of the reports.

“I usually return home alone from work at 9 p.m. on my motorcycle, but since the rumor or celuluk started I now request my husband to accompanying me,” explained Jero Sadan of Tabanan.

The chairman of the regional House of Representatives (DPRD-Tabanan), I Ketut Suryadi, dismissed public fears, saying the celuluk stories were only rumors.

“America has already landed on the moon, but we still fantasize about celuluks,” said Syryadi while shaking his head in disbelief.

While Indonesia’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, xontends that an airport in North Bali is a virtual certainty [See: Run, Run, Run . . . Runway]  Beritabali.com reports that plans by the Buleleng Regency in North Bali to develop and expand the Letkol Wisnu Airfield in the village of Sumberkima for short-haul domestic flights is drawing a "blank stare" from Bali’s Department of Transportation who say they have no formal knowledge of such plans.

Made Santha, the Head of the Transportation, Information and Communication Department for Bali, said: “I don’t yet know (about the airport expansion plan). There’s no permission that’s been granted by the central transportation department. Everything needs a permit first.”

He added that in the end there would only be one airport in Bali’s north, either for domestic or international flights. “There can only be one airport in Buleleng, and there’s also a maximum of two airports for all of Bali. We must consider the interconnection between the two (airports),” said Santha.

Previously the regent of Buleleng, Putu Bagiada, said the development of the existing Letkol Wisnu Airfield as a domestic airport would take place with the extension of the current runway, now being undertaken in phases. The current runway is now 900 meters long, an increase from its previous length of 700 meters.

Plans are for the Lt. Kol. Wisnu Airport of north Bali to handle flights between Surabaya and Buleleng and Buleleng and Lombok. The regency’s plan is to commence these domestic services by 2012.

Pending results of a survey now being conducted by candidate investor in a new North Bali airport, is remains unclear if the new facility would merely absord the current Lt. Kol. Wisnu Airfield or be a new and totally separate facility.

The prestigious Wine Spectator Magazine survey of 3,700 restaurants worldwide presented in its 2011 Restaurant Wine List Awards is now out.

Nine Bali restaurants are recognized in this year’s list of “Awards of Excellence” with one Bali restaurant – Kayuputi at The St. Regis Bali Resort, earning special recognition with a “Best of Award of Excellence.” Kayuputi was the only Indonesian restaurant in the Wine Spectator survey earning this distinction.

“Award of Excellence” recognition by Wine Spectator is given to restaurants with a well-chosen selection of quality wine producers with thematic matches to menu in both price and style.

“Best of Award of Excellence” is second-tiers of recognition reserved for restaurants with exceptional wine selections and culinary offerings.

The Bali restaurants included in the 2011 Wine Spectator list:

• Kayuputi – St Regis Bali Resort , Nusa Dua “Best of Award of Excellence”

• Italian Restaurant – Amanusa Resort, Nusa Dua “Award of Excellence”

• Metis Restaurant and Gallery, Seminyak “Award of Excellence”

• Mozaic Restaurant, Ubud “Award of Excellence”

• Nutmegs, Petitenget “Award of Excellence”

• Ocean Terrace, The Laguna Luxury Collection, Nusa Dua “Award of Excellence”

• The Restaurant, Amankila Resort, Karangasen, East Bali “Award of Excellence”

• The Restaurant, Amandari Resort, Kedewatan, Ubud “Award of Excellence”

• The Restaurant, The Legian, Bali, Petitenget “Award of Excellence”
 

The State News Agency Antara reports that the Indonesian Environment Ministry will launch a 350-hour bicycling trip on September 27, 2011, from Bali to Bandung. West Java to mark the holding of the Tunza Indonesia, Children and Youth Conference on the Environment.

Dodo Sambodo, the spokesperson for the Ministry, said one of the aims of the long distance cycling trip is to draw attention to the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Indonesia is committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 26%.

Eight representatives from cycling communities in Java and Bali will depart from the starting point of the West Bali port of Gilimanuk and then cycle overland to Bandung via Yogyakarta in Central Java.

The Tunza Children and Youth Conference on the Environment will be held in Bandung from September 27 to October 01, 2011. The conference will be attended by youth from around the world.

Held biannually, the conference in Bandung is slated to host 550 participants from 120 countries, most ranging in age between 15 and 25 years.

The conference intends to issue the “Bandung Declaration” defining the younger generation's role in working for sustainable development. 

During the first seven months of 2011 - 73 deaths of foreign nationals were recorded by Bali’s Sanglah General Hospital.

According to the head of the hospitals forensic medicine department, Dr. Dudut Rustyadi, 64 of the foreigners died due to illness, while 9 deaths were due to non-natural causes comprising  2 deaths due to traffic mishaps, 6 drownings and one suicide.

Related Article

[Forever Strangers in Paradise?]

The 124-member Indonesian Air Force Academy Marching Band treated Bali visitors in the area of Kuta on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, to an exciting display of musicality and formation marching.

In Bali as part of a nationwide goodwill tour that included stops in Balikpapan (Kalimantan) and Makassar (Sulawesi), the cadets, known in Indonesia as “Karbol,”  are the nation's future airmen and airwomen who, upon graduation, will become commission officers in the Indonesian Air Force.

Bali produces an average of 5 cadets for the elite Indonesian Air Force Academy in Yogyakarta every year, a number higher than the average for other provinces in Indonesia.

The “Karbol” spent their time in Bali during the latest visit undertaking navigation exercises and paying recruitment visits to local high schools.

The parade by the drum crop, led by a phalanx of drum majors, started at the Kantor Lurah for Kuta and followed Jalan Pantai Kuta before ending at Stones Hotel at the opposite end of the Kuta strip.

Putting on a musically martial display that delighted tourists on the busy beach side boulevard, the marching band was comprised of bass drums, snare drums and trumpeters performing  while executing precision marching drills as they proudly wore the distinctive royal blue and white dress uniforms of their Academy.

Following a trend in other parts of the island, official tourist sites operated by the Badung regency government in South Bali are set to be dramatically increased.

Now being considered by the Badung House of Representatives (DPR-Badung) is a revision of admission fees from the current Rp. 5,000 for adults (US$0.55) and Rp. 3,000 for children (US$0.35).

While plans in the regency’s budget originally called to double the rate to Rp. 10,000 (US$1.10) for adults and Rp. 5,000 (US$0.70) for children, legislators are calling for a more ambitious hike to Rp. 50,000 (US$5.55) for adults and Rp. 25,000 (US$2.80) for children.

In defending the proposed highest level of increase that, if approved, would represent a 1,00% increase over the current admission costs, legislators argue the higher rates will permit larger allocations of much-needed community improvement funds from visitor revenues to the villages surrounding the tourist sites.

While no formal decision has yet to be made on the amount of the proposed increase and the effective date for its introduction, among the sites to be affected by any eventual price hike are the Sangeh Monkey Forest, Taman Ayun at Mengwi, Uluwatu Temple, and the Nungnung waterfall at Petang.

The formal negotiations process has begun for the acquisition of the land needed to build the Simpang Siur underpass at the Dewa Ruci Monument in Kuta.

NusaBali reports that discussions with three of the landowners began in earnest on Wednesday. September 24, 2011 at the District Chief’s offices (camat) for Kuta. Negotiations are said be deadlocked and are expected to continue for at least another two weeks.

The government’s land acquisition team (P2T) for the project offered Rp. 700 million (US$77,700) per are (100 square meter) with an additional amount to be paid for any buildings and structures sacrificed.

The three owners are reported to be considering the offer and have asked until September 27, 2011 to make their decision. Each of the three owners own, respectively, 185 square meters, 660 square meters and 670 square meters.

Meanwhile, the head of the P2T acquisition team, Ida Bagus Yoga Segara, told the press that it is impossible to estimate exactly when the negotiation process will end but, at the same time, he is aware that construction will have to begin on the project by October in order to meet a targeted completion of the project before the APEC Conference in 2013.

Yoga explained that the Rp. 700 million per are did not necessarily apply for all the lands that must be acquired for the underpass project. The price for each individual parcel will be different and a function of location, accessibility, elevation and its zoning classification.

Also still be to be negotiated is a suitable compensation level for any structures standing on the land that will be sacrificed to the road project.
The initial three lots of land now under negotiation, however, are devoid of any buildings.

Just a few weeks after being recognized by the Department of Manpower as one of three hotels in Bali with exemplary management-employee relations [See: Just Trying to Keep the Customer Satisfied] , the Hotel Melia Bali suffered a wildcat strike of 1.5 hours duration on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

According to NusaBali, the strike was over the method in which reimbursement is paid for medical expenses which workers allege violates the hotel's labor agreement.

The agreement between the workers and the Hotel reportedly provides for free medical service at a local hospital. In the past, employees of the hotel and their immediate family members needed only to report to the hospital for treatment, which was paid subsequently by the hotel.

Effective August 15, 2011, however, the hospital changed its policies requiring all the hotel’s employees and their dependents must pay for medical services at the time of treatment and seek reimbursement from the hotel after-the-fact.

The head of the Indonesia Workers Union, Putu Yadnyana, said the change of policy suggested a change had taken place in the cooperation agreement between the Hotel and the Hospital that negatively affected the welfare of The Melia’s workers.

The striking workers, numbering in the hundreds by NusaBali estimates but put at only 50 by Bali Manpower Agency officials, demanded they be allowed to meet directly with the Hotel’s general manager, Jim Boyles.

Following the short strike a meeting was held between the workers, the hotel’s management and representatives of Badung’s Manpower office.

The press reports that no resolution to the worker’s complaints was achieved at the closed-door meeting.  This, however, has been denied by the Hotel’s Human Resource Director, who told the press the problem had been completely resolved. This was also echoed by the head of the Badung Manpower office, Nyoman Predangga, who insisted an agreement was in hand between the workers and the hotel’s management.

Another Manpower official told the press that the hotel has agreed to return to the previous system in place before August 15, 2011, that immediately meets all the medical expenses incurred at the hospital by the Hotel’s workers and their dependents.

Wildcat strikes are generally not permitted under Indonesian labor law.


 

American performing and recording artist Jason Mraz is scheduled to perform in Bali on Wednesday, November 9, 2011.
 
Part of a four country tour of Asia, Mraz will perform in Manila (30 October) before visiting Taiwan and Thailand on his way to a Bali engagement.

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter will perform at Taman Bhagawan at Tanjung Benoa with ticket sales for the Bali performance scheduled to commence September 19, 2011.

The theme of the Asian tour is “Jason Mraz: A Special Acoustic Evening With Toca Rivera.”  Rivera is a longtime friend and renowned percussionist who has played a key-performing role in the artist's successful album releases and public performances to date.

Mraz’s last performance in Indonesia was in March 2009 when he received rave reviews for appearances at “Java Jazz 2009.”

Mraz’s last album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and received strong sales internationally. Including Indonesia. That album also contained his hit single I’m Yours.”

Ticket Prices

VIP Festival                  Rp. 860,000 (US$$95)
Premium Festival        Rp. 680,000 (US$75)
Regular Festival         Rp. 390,000 (US$43)


[Email Order Tickets for Jason Mraz Concert November 9, 2011]

The Bali Commission for the Control of AIDS (KPA) estimates there are at least 150 children in Bali suffering from HIV/AIDS. As reported by Beritabali.com, almost of the infected children are from families where both parents are also positive for HIV/AIDS.

The secretary for the KPA in Bali, Made Suprapta, said that generally instances in which children are infected with HIV/AIDS trace back to situations in which both parents are unaware of their own infection with the disease.

He says the lack of knowledge of the dangers and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is directly linked to the lack of understanding on the need to undertake HIV/AIDS testing and participate in voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) programs.

Suprapta said the rising number of HIV/AIDS cases among children in Bali was most concerning, adding that he had no firm figures on the percentage increase in such infections.

The Bali Department of Health estimates the total number of HIV/AIDS cases in Bali stands at 4,600.

The Bali provincial tax revenue office (Dinas Pendapatan Bali) records that there are more than 340 large, imported motorcycles that have “never” paid road taxes.

According to Beritabali.com, the average road taxes for a large, imported motorcycle can reach Rp. 5 million (US$555) each year.

The head of the tax revenue office, Ketut Sudira, said on Thursday, September 15, 2011 that the large, imported motorcycles have been smuggled into Bali where they are illegally brought and sold. As a result, the bikes have no valid titles of ownership or registration certificates, making tax administration problematic.

“They have no paperwork so they can not present at the vehicle registration office (SAMSAT). We have tried to coordinate with the police and customs. The owners cannot complete the paperwork with receipts and vehicles titles (BPKB), so clearly they can pay the vehicle registration fees,” explained Sudira.

Sudira said there are 700 owners of large motorcycles in Bali who routinely pay their vehicle taxes.

Separately, NusaBali says tax officials are preparing to stage a door-to-door campaign on residences where large motorcycles and other unregistered vehicles are known to be stored.

Vehicle registration officials say the newly introduced on-line registration process is helping officials identify errant vehicle owners who are avoiding their tax obligations.

Officials now estimate there are some 22,169 vehicles in Bali with outstanding road tax bills, with some unpaid road tax bills going back as long as 10 years.

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[Hendrik and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance]

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[Road Hogs, the Clock is Ticking Down]

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The National Catholic Reporter and islamonline.net both report that representatives Indonesian Islamic Student Association (Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam (HMI)) have visited the Vatican to extend an invitation to Pope Benedict XVI to attend and speak at a conference in Bali in 2012.

Indonesia’s largest Muslim student organization, the HMI’s was founded in 1947 and has a membership, which numbers nearly 1million.

FIDES, the Vatican’s missionary news agency, reports that the HMI delegation met with Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

During the Vatican visit, the Indonesian students shared their ideas with Cardinal Tauran on ways to promote dialogue and religious pluralism through creating collaborations between Islamic and Roman Catholic communities.

Fides characterized the visit by the HMI showed how the organization has become a voice for promoting dialogue and interreligious harmony in combating extremism.

The White House has confirmed that plans are moving ahead to welcome U.S. President Barack Obama to Bali in mid-November.

Obama will travel from Washington, D.C. to his home state of Hawaii where he will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. From Hawaii he will visit Australia on November 16-17, 2011, before flying to Bali to participate in the East Asia summit.

The head of the Kodam IX/Udayana military command headquartered in Bali has confirmed his readiness to cooperate with the presidential security detail to ensure a safe visit.

The assurances were offered by Lt. Col Arm. Wing Handoko in a meeting with the press on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

He was accompanied by Kol. Arm. Winarto, an intelligence officer, who said: “Kodam is prepared to protect VVIPs at the conference which will be attended by many nations. We have already coordinated with the Armed Forces Headquarters.”

In anticipation of the November visit, the Udayana Military Command will undertake joint exercises to be at the highest level of preparedness for the prestigious visit.

Coordination is also underway with the United States Secret Service. The ultimate responsibility for matters related to the safety of the visiting heads of state rests with the National Command of the Indonesian Armed Forces and the Indonesian Presidential Security Detail.

Handoko told Beritabali.com that the threat of terrorism is included on the list of security concerns, but affirmed that Bali remains safe from all forms of terrorism.
 

Bali’s governor Made Mangku Pastika chose to travel by helicopter on Thursday, September 15, 2011, to attend of the closing ceremony of the Bali Provincial Sports Festival X/2011 (Porprov Bali X/2011) in Jembrana, West Bali.

Bali Post reports that a helicopter with the registration HR 1520 operated by the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) carrying the governor landed at Taman Pecangakan in front of the regent’s office for Jembrana on Thursday at 3:30 p.m..

The governor was welcomed by the regent of Jembrana I Putu Artha, the chief of the Jembrana police command AKBP Irfing Jaya and a number of provincial dignitaries. The governor took a car from the landing spot to witness the final soccer match of the sports festival and present the winners with their medals before departing on the helicopter at shortly after 6:15 p.m.

Local residents in Jembrana turned out in large numbers to witness the rare visit of a reigning governor by helicopter.

A British Aerospace BAE 146/200 operated by AviaStar Jet on route from Kupang – Ende – Labuan Bajo (Komodo) to Bali narrowly averted disaster on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, when it plowed into a herd of cattle grazing on the runway of the Labuan Bajo Komodo Airport in West Flores.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. when the aircraft with 44 passengers and 6 crew was confronted with a herd of 20 cows that had wandered onto the runway just as the aircraft was about to land.

The operations manager of TransNusa Air, Yosef Lumben Gaol, based in Kupang, told Kompas.com that he had only praise for the the skills of the plane’s pilot, Herlis Simanjuntak, who expertly maneuvered the landing aircraft that struck three of the grazing cows. The pilot holds an instructor’s certification and was once assigned as pilot for presidential flights.

On this particular flight, Captain Simanjuntak’s passenger manifest included the vice-regent of West Manggarai (West Flores),  Maksimum Gasa.

Damage to the aircraft was reportedly limited to the front landing gear of the aircraft. The damage, howver, to the three errant cows was fatal.

 

The threatened strike action by the Garuda Pilots Association (APG) for “sometime” in September might be averted if an agreement on pilot remuneration can be achieved.

Tempo Interaktif quotes the chairman of the APG, Stephanus Gerardus Setitit, saying: “If there is good intentions from Garuda, we will not go on strike. But the final results are not guaranteed, as this is only a promise (from the airline).”

Stephanus confirmed that the APG has met with the directors of Garuda last Friday. “This was a continuance from the deadlocked negotiations held at the end of August,” he explained.

One of the results of the latest meeting was the establishment of remuneration review team. Stephanus added: “I have just selected our representatives. The team will be formed this week.”

The APG chairman said the review team will work until the end of October after which their mutually agreed recommendations will be included in the Companies work plan in November and presented for approval at the next meeting of shareholders.

He also confirmed to the media that the most recent meeting was conducted in a positive atmosphere.

As regard the unhappiness with the higher wages paid to foreign pilots, Stephanus said Garuda has promised to give their foreign pilots the choice of ending their work contracts or taking a pay cut. “The have promised to do this quickly, but until now we have not seen a copy of the letter,” said Stephanus.

Related Articles

[Labor Pains: Coming Closer Together at Garuda]

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The Indonesian Department of Public Works is giving Bali priority for projects connected to the supply of fresh water.

Budi Yuwono of the Public Works Ministry said: “The allocation from Jakarta for the supply of fresh water next year is Rp. 3.2 trillion (US$355.5 million). But, this amount is prioritized for village areas. Especially for metropolitan areas, only Bali and East Nusa Tenggara, we have been very selective."

Reported by Kompas.com, Yuwono’s comments were made at a presentation at the governor office on plans for the building of a water system for the Petanu River on Friday, September 16, 2011. He said that Bali and East Nusa Tenggara were selected for special treatment because of the lack of a water-supply infrastructure in these areas.

Yuwono added, “Bali is expected to experience a water deficit in 2015. While, in fact, Bali will handle a number of major international events such as the APEC Summit in 2013. Moreover, Bali is an international tourism destination. It’s not right is Bali is lacking in basic infrastructure, most of all water. Let’s not let Bali experience a water shortage.”

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[All’s Well That Ends Well]

[Is Your Hotel Sinking?] 

[A River Runs Through It]

[A Liquidity Crisis]
 
[Waste Not, Want Not]

Bali governor Made Pastika has publicly expressed his dismay and disappointment at the obstacles he confronts on every front in an effort to lead Bali to a better future.

Quoted by Kompas.com, Governor Pastika reflected on the third year of his current term as Bali’s chief executive at an encounter with the press on Friday, September 16, 2011, saying: “It’s better I stay quiet and do nothing. I'm not allowed to build schools. I’m not allowed to repair housing for the poor. I’m not allowed to build a hospital. Everything I do is wrong.”

Pastika suspects that protests and disagreement with many of his social development programs are linked to political intrigue. “In fact,” he added, “the next governor’s election is two years away. But the political attacks against me are so intense.”

At the same meeting the governor also complained that there are media in Bali who are being unbalanced, continually trying to force him into a corner. Pastika said he feels there's little need to make new programs if they are only to meet with protest.

During his three years in office Pastika has launched the Bali Mandara programs emphasizing a secure and socially just island society. Included in his program have been efforts to integrate the agricultural sector into the general economy, a socialized medicine program for Bali residents (JKBM) and the repair of housing for the poor.

More than forty are reported injured, seven are in police custody and one dead after clashes broke out on Saturday, September 17, 2001, between the villagers of Kemoning and Budaga in Klungkung regency, northeast Bali.

Kompas.com, on Sunday, September 18th, quoted the spokesman for the Bali police, Hariadi, who said, “the situation has once again became calm and police were no longer guarding the location.”

The civil unrest occurred when villagers from Kemoning tried to install a sign marking the boundary of their village. That boundary, however, is at dispute with the adjoining villagers from Budaga who confronted the men trying to install the border makers with stones and sharp weapons.

At issue between the two villages is the control and ownership of two temples – Pura Dalem and Pur Prajapti - and a community cemetery.

In the ensuing altercation between the two villages, one resident from Budaga, Ariaka, (56), suffered serious wounds and was rushed to the Sanglah General Hospital where he was subsequently declared dead.

VIVAnews reports that police are awaiting the results of a forensic report on Ariaka's remains that reportedly suffered bullets wounds to the back and head, possibly inflicted by police who fired in an effort to disperse the crowds. Hariada said: “Regarding the suspicion that the death occurred because of official gunfire, we will have to wait for the official forensic report.

Hariadi said that fires shot by police to disperse the crowds used rubber bullets, in accordance with protocols in place for handling crowds. He said that any shot fired were only “warning shots” aimed at the legs of the rioters.

Officials at the the Klungkung General Hospital confirmed that some of the patients at the hospital were being treated for rubber bullet wounds and the surgical removal of rubber cartridges.

VIVAnews counted 30 villagers and 2 police injured in the outbreak and one dead.

Following the outbreak of social unrest, police have reportedly conducted raids on local homes and confiscated hundreds of machetes, clubs, crowbars, samurai swords and Molotov bombs.

On Sunday, September 18, 2011, Inspector General Totoy Herawan Indra, Chief of the Bali police , and Bali governor, Made Mangku Pastika, both visited the location of the fighting, the hospital in Klungkung were the injured are being treated and conducted meetings with local community leaders.

The Klungkung incident follows by just two months clashes between two villages in Bangli that also claimed the life of a local villager.
[See: Bangli Paralyzed by Civil Unrest]