Balinese civilian guards get back to normal life
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."