Being prosperous is dilemma: Governor<\/p>\n
Despite the turbulent economic and political crisis, Bali
\nremains a prolific hub for business and tourism in Indonesia. The
\nprovince is also considered the safest in the country.<\/p>\n
In conjunction with the province's 43rd anniversary, which
\nfalls on Aug. 14, The Jakarta Post's Rita A. Widiadana, I Wayan
\nJuniartha and A. Djohari Rahyat met with Bali's No. 1 man,
\nGovernor I Dewa Made Beratha, at his office last weekend.<\/p>\n
DENPASAR (JP): A graduate of Gadjah Mada University's School
\nof Social Sciences and Politics, Dewa Beratha started his career
\nas a civil servant in the early l960s.<\/p>\n
The professional career of this father of four reached a peak
\nin l998 when he replaced the flamboyant Ida Bagus Oka as Bali's
\ngovernor. Unlike his predecessor, soft-spoken Dewa Beratha is
\nknown as a low-profile public servant. Heavily shaken by his
\nopponents during his early office term, Dewa Beratha kept his
\ncool and persevered.<\/p>\n
A devout Hindu, he frequently spends cold nights in holy
\ntemples on the island to ask for divine guidance. "As a human
\nbeing, we tend to make mistakes and hurt people."<\/p>\n
The following is an excerpt from the interview.<\/p>\n
How have you managed to keep Bali safe during this
\ntransitional period?<\/p>\n
Bali has a good image abroad as the safest place in Indonesia.
\nIt is my first priority to maintain this reputation. If a bomb
\nexplodes in Bali or a riot occurs on the island, its image as
\nwell as Indonesia's in general will be completely ruined. Nobody
\nwill come to Bali. I have been coordinating with the military,
\nthe police, all related agencies as well as the chiefs of Desa
\nAdat (customary village) and religious leaders. I am so grateful
\nthat all of the involved parties have done their best.<\/p>\n
As one of the richest provinces in Indonesia, Bali may pose
\nserious problems, how do you plan to solve them?<\/p>\n
Being prosperous is a dilemma for us. We cannot prevent people
\nfrom coming and working in Bali. Indonesia is a united country,
\nand as such we cannot close our door on others. Everybody has the
\nright to make a living here. But in all honesty, the influx of
\nseasonal migrant workers has created serious population,
\nenvironmental and security problems. It is difficult for us to
\nprecisely register the number of these migrants, who usually
\nreside in the already densely populated areas of Denpasar or
\nBadung regencies. We don't have adequate infrastructures,
\nincluding for housing, water and sanitary facilities, to support
\nthem. As a result, we see so many new squatters in the city of
\nDenpasar, creating slum areas. A lot of them are jobless and
\ncould possibly affect the crime rate on the island.<\/p>\n
What other issues do you have to concentrate on during your
\ntenure?<\/p>\n
There is an ample amount of homework that needs to be done
\nimmediately. Behind the glitter of Bali, the province actually
\nfaces mountains of pressing problems.<\/p>\n
First, there is a very wide gap on the potency of natural and
\nhuman resources in each of the eight regencies and one mayoralty.
\nThe results are distressing. Some regencies enjoy robust economic
\ndevelopment, while others still struggle to combat poverty.<\/p>\n
Second, a lack of professional workers has hampered locals in
\ncompeting in the job market on the island. The ongoing
\nmultidimensional crisis has had an adverse effect on educational
\nactivities and lowering opportunities for school-aged children to
\nreceive better education. Many students have to quit school for
\neconomic reasons. This is very dangerous because, in the long
\nrun, Bali will lose its chances to have skilled human resources.
\nWe are now witnessing an influx of workers from outside Bali. It
\nis expected that in the future, local workers could fill the
\nposts. Finally, and this is a very disturbing issue, Bali is
\nwell-known as one of the richest provinces in Indonesia. Yet, our
\npoor population still makes up 10.99 percent of the total 3.2
\nmillion residents.<\/p>\n
(According to new data from the Bali's Development Plan
\nAgency, the number of poor people increased from 125,600 or 4.29
\npercent in l996 to 418,650 in l998. The number fell to 322,023 in
\nl999).<\/p>\n
Other important problems are the gradual destruction of
\nBali's environment, our most crucial asset. Excessive and poorly
\nplanned development projects over the last three decades have
\nworsened the condition of beaches, paddy fields, valleys, lakes
\nand rivers. How can we "sell" our natural beauty to visitors if
\nour environment is in a very bad condition?<\/p>\n
Do you have any strategic plans to improve the already
\ndecaying environment and to prevent any possible
\nviolations from occurring in various development projects?<\/p>\n
We have already made a new and comprehensive master plan. Yet, I
\nhave to admit that this is one of the most daunting tasks faced
\nby the provincial government. Deviations in the construction of
\nhotels, business centers and other tourist facilities have been
\ngoing on since Bali experienced the tourist boom in the early
\n1980s.<\/p>\n
Many investors, businessmen as well as individuals, took
\nadvantage of bendable laws and an unclear master plan.
\nUnscrupulous officials who helped them obtain permits also
\ncontributed to the destruction of Bali.<\/p>\n
It is not just a matter of violations of regulations or the
\nlegal system, rather it is more a problem of their mentality. I
\nmust confess that it is really hard to change the mentality of
\nboth government officials and businessmen to abide by
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
They mostly have no idea or awareness of the importance to
\npreserve Bali. They don't realize that if they ruin Bali, their
\nbusinesses will collapse as well. Since I came into office three
\nyears ago, I have tried to persuade my staff to create good and
\nclean governance. I have given "naughty" officials some lessons
\nby dismissing them from office or lowering their evaluation.
\nStricter sanctions have also been imposed on those who are
\nagainst the regulations.<\/p>\n
Have you been successful?<\/p>\n
At least my staff knows to be careful not to play around with me.
\nAnd no more investors and businessmen will dare to bribe me. One
\nnoted businessman tried to bribe me by offering a luxury house in
\nthe elite Pondok Indah complex in Jakarta in return for business
\nand building permits in Bali.<\/p>\n
With a cleaner governance system and harsher law enforcement, you
\ncan easily control development projects, but violations continue
\nto occur. Do you see any other problems?<\/p>\n
The implementation of regional autonomy in Bali has created a lot
\nof problems concerning the transfer of authority from provincial
\nto regional administrations. So far, not all regents have similar
\nperceptions on the concept of regional autonomy. Many of them
\nconsider autonomy as a transfer of power rather than improving
\nservices for the public. They also think they possess the
\nauthority to issue permits and invite investors to build in their
\nrespective areas.<\/p>\n
The output has been so worrying and disappointing. Some
\nregents have directly or indirectly let investors violate
\nregulations in order to gain financial benefits while at the same
\ntime destroying the environment and creating social and cultural
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
As a governor in the era of regional autonomy, do you
\nstill have enough power to prevent regional
\nadministration from committing any irregularities?<\/p>\n
Yes, as a provincial governor, I still have the authority to
\ncontrol and to coordinate policies implemented at regional
\nlevels. I am still a lucky governor. In other provinces, a
\ngovernor has no power at all, even to summons a regent. Here in
\nBali, most regents are still cooperative and willing to
\ndiscuss problems with me, the chiefs of Desa Adat and other
\nrelated parties. In Bali, the concept of autonomy should be
\nadjusted to the island's social and cultural system.<\/p>\n
Do you consider the current concept of regional
\nautonomy inappropriate for Bali?<\/p>\n
Since the New Order, the central government has tended to
\ngeneralize and make all policies uniform. Citing an example, the
\nconcept of the desa (village) with its subdistrict heads
\n(kecamatan) and other officials was unsuitable for Bali since we
\nalready have Desa Adat, a traditional organization of farmers who
\nown adjacent rice fields (Desa Subak) and a village community
\ngroup (banjar). Similarly, it would be better if Bali was allowed
\nto implement regional autonomy only at the provincial level.<\/p>\n
Are there any specific reasons to support your concept
\nof regional autonomy?<\/p>\n
Long before the Law on regional autonomy took effect, scholars,
\ngovernment officials, religious and traditional chiefs held a
\nseries of meetings to thoroughly study the content of the law and
\nto decide whether it was fit for Bali. We concluded that Bali had
\nunique characteristics in terms of its geographical condition and
\ncultural, social and religious aspects.<\/p>\n
Geographically, Bali is a tiny island with eight regencies and
\none mayoralty. Only two regencies (Badung and Gianyar) and one
\nmayoralty (Denpasar) have an adequate regional income, while the
\nrest are destitute. We assumed that full regional autonomy would
\nwiden the gap between rich and poor regencies and in the end to
\nincite jealousy.<\/p>\n
Historically and culturally, Bali is unified. We have
\nreligious temples located on bordering areas, and Subak
\norganizations, which may involve members from two or more
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
Do you think Bali's concept of regional autonomy is
\napplicable and will be approved by the central government?<\/p>\n
With Megawati Soekarnoputri as the fifth Indonesian President, I
\nam pretty optimistic that she will consider the idea. I have
\nheard there is a discourse among legal experts, government
\nofficials and legislative bodies to review the existing Law on
\nregional autonomy.<\/p>\n
During your office term, which ends in 2003, what would you like
\nto see for Bali and its people?<\/p>\n
It is impossible to return Bali to its original condition in
\nthe early 20th century when people regarded this island as a
\nparadise. But I will not "sell" my land to irresponsible
\ninvestors.<\/p>\n
I promised myself that I would safeguard the island from
\nfurther destruction. This is my duty to Sang Hyang Widhi (God)
\nand to the people of Bali. It is hoped that Bali can become a
\ncultural capital again. I want all the people of Bali to enjoy
\nthe benefits of our prosperous tourism and other economic
\nactivities. Yet, I also expect that we, as Balinese, can jointly
\nmaintain and preserve our religious and cultural heritage. We
\nshould not be shy to follow the Japanese who have successfully
\nkept their traditions while jumping into the high-tech world.<\/p>",
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