Balinese civilian guards get back to normal life

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali

Unlike on previous days, only a few Balinese traditional security guards, or pecalang, were seen hanging around the Nusa Dua resort complex on Friday, where the UN meeting was held.

It was understandable though, as Friday was the last day of the two-week preparatory committee meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, in which members of the pecalang were used to secure the event.

One member of the pecalang, who had just finished patrolling the complex, said most of his colleagues had returned home to resume their daily life.

"The tiring meeting has finished so we are now going back to our normal life," the pecalang, who refused to give his name, told The Jakarta Post.

He said some of his friends were working for various government offices, but because of the call to duty to maintain peace on the island, they took some time off.

"We want to ensure that Bali maintains its good image, that is why we all took time to guard this international meeting," he said.

The pecalang is a group of Balinese civilian guards closely linked to a banjar (traditional village).

The entire banjar community elects the members of a pecalang for a certain period of time. Their duty is to primarily safeguard the village, especially during traditional and religious ceremonies.

"We don't understand all these words about globalization. All we know is that one slight security disruption would have a terrible impact on our tourism business," the pecalang member, who also runs a small restaurant, said.

The two-week Bali meeting on sustainable development slightly tarnished the good image of these traditional guards.

Not because of their actions, but because of other civilian guards affiliated to the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, who wore a similar uniform and acted beyond the authority of police.

During the meeting, the guards, mistakenly taken for the pecalang, were positioned facing the protesters, who were mostly members of non-governmental organizations grouped under the Indonesian People's Forum (IPF).

On some occasions, they blocked rallies by the IPF, when the police could not do so.

But this prompted the IPF to lodge protests to the police for deploying civilian guards to face their protests.

This situation created a bad image of the pecalang, and upset the Bali Hindu Youth Association.

In an interview aired by one radio station in Bali, some people called in to say they were ashamed to be Balinese because of the actions of the pecalang during the meeting.

"The pecalang should not be a part of the security guards. Their main duties are to protect traditional ceremonies and stay inside their villages," the caller, Leidang Asmara, said.

However, National Police chief Gen. Da'I Bachtiar viewed the issue differently, saying that he was so proud of the pecalang as they were so well-organized and extremely polite.

Despite the comments, one pecalang member said, "I am only doing my job as a guardian for my banjar of Nusa Dua, nothing more."