Being prosperous is dilemma: Governor

Despite the turbulent economic and political crisis, Bali remains a prolific hub for business and tourism in Indonesia. The province is also considered the safest in the country.

In conjunction with the province's 43rd anniversary, which falls on Aug. 14, The Jakarta Post's Rita A. Widiadana, I Wayan Juniartha and A. Djohari Rahyat met with Bali's No. 1 man, Governor I Dewa Made Beratha, at his office last weekend.

DENPASAR (JP): A graduate of Gadjah Mada University's School of Social Sciences and Politics, Dewa Beratha started his career as a civil servant in the early l960s.

The professional career of this father of four reached a peak in l998 when he replaced the flamboyant Ida Bagus Oka as Bali's governor. Unlike his predecessor, soft-spoken Dewa Beratha is known as a low-profile public servant. Heavily shaken by his opponents during his early office term, Dewa Beratha kept his cool and persevered.

A devout Hindu, he frequently spends cold nights in holy temples on the island to ask for divine guidance. "As a human being, we tend to make mistakes and hurt people."

The following is an excerpt from the interview.

How have you managed to keep Bali safe during this transitional period?

Bali has a good image abroad as the safest place in Indonesia. It is my first priority to maintain this reputation. If a bomb explodes in Bali or a riot occurs on the island, its image as well as Indonesia's in general will be completely ruined. Nobody will come to Bali. I have been coordinating with the military, the police, all related agencies as well as the chiefs of Desa Adat (customary village) and religious leaders. I am so grateful that all of the involved parties have done their best.

As one of the richest provinces in Indonesia, Bali may pose serious problems, how do you plan to solve them?

Being prosperous is a dilemma for us. We cannot prevent people from coming and working in Bali. Indonesia is a united country, and as such we cannot close our door on others. Everybody has the right to make a living here. But in all honesty, the influx of seasonal migrant workers has created serious population, environmental and security problems. It is difficult for us to precisely register the number of these migrants, who usually reside in the already densely populated areas of Denpasar or Badung regencies. We don't have adequate infrastructures, including for housing, water and sanitary facilities, to support them. As a result, we see so many new squatters in the city of Denpasar, creating slum areas. A lot of them are jobless and could possibly affect the crime rate on the island.

What other issues do you have to concentrate on during your tenure?

There is an ample amount of homework that needs to be done immediately. Behind the glitter of Bali, the province actually faces mountains of pressing problems.

First, there is a very wide gap on the potency of natural and human resources in each of the eight regencies and one mayoralty. The results are distressing. Some regencies enjoy robust economic development, while others still struggle to combat poverty.

Second, a lack of professional workers has hampered locals in competing in the job market on the island. The ongoing multidimensional crisis has had an adverse effect on educational activities and lowering opportunities for school-aged children to receive better education. Many students have to quit school for economic reasons. This is very dangerous because, in the long run, Bali will lose its chances to have skilled human resources. We are now witnessing an influx of workers from outside Bali. It is expected that in the future, local workers could fill the posts. Finally, and this is a very disturbing issue, Bali is well-known as one of the richest provinces in Indonesia. Yet, our poor population still makes up 10.99 percent of the total 3.2 million residents.

(According to new data from the Bali's Development Plan Agency, the number of poor people increased from 125,600 or 4.29 percent in l996 to 418,650 in l998. The number fell to 322,023 in l999).

Other important problems are the gradual destruction of Bali's environment, our most crucial asset. Excessive and poorly planned development projects over the last three decades have worsened the condition of beaches, paddy fields, valleys, lakes and rivers. How can we "sell" our natural beauty to visitors if our environment is in a very bad condition?

Do you have any strategic plans to improve the already decaying environment and to prevent any possible violations from occurring in various development projects?

We have already made a new and comprehensive master plan. Yet, I have to admit that this is one of the most daunting tasks faced by the provincial government. Deviations in the construction of hotels, business centers and other tourist facilities have been going on since Bali experienced the tourist boom in the early 1980s.

Many investors, businessmen as well as individuals, took advantage of bendable laws and an unclear master plan. Unscrupulous officials who helped them obtain permits also contributed to the destruction of Bali.

It is not just a matter of violations of regulations or the legal system, rather it is more a problem of their mentality. I must confess that it is really hard to change the mentality of both government officials and businessmen to abide by regulations.

They mostly have no idea or awareness of the importance to preserve Bali. They don't realize that if they ruin Bali, their businesses will collapse as well. Since I came into office three years ago, I have tried to persuade my staff to create good and clean governance. I have given "naughty" officials some lessons by dismissing them from office or lowering their evaluation. Stricter sanctions have also been imposed on those who are against the regulations.

Have you been successful?

At least my staff knows to be careful not to play around with me. And no more investors and businessmen will dare to bribe me. One noted businessman tried to bribe me by offering a luxury house in the elite Pondok Indah complex in Jakarta in return for business and building permits in Bali.

With a cleaner governance system and harsher law enforcement, you can easily control development projects, but violations continue to occur. Do you see any other problems?

The implementation of regional autonomy in Bali has created a lot of problems concerning the transfer of authority from provincial to regional administrations. So far, not all regents have similar perceptions on the concept of regional autonomy. Many of them consider autonomy as a transfer of power rather than improving services for the public. They also think they possess the authority to issue permits and invite investors to build in their respective areas.

The output has been so worrying and disappointing. Some regents have directly or indirectly let investors violate regulations in order to gain financial benefits while at the same time destroying the environment and creating social and cultural problems.

As a governor in the era of regional autonomy, do you still have enough power to prevent regional administration from committing any irregularities?

Yes, as a provincial governor, I still have the authority to control and to coordinate policies implemented at regional levels. I am still a lucky governor. In other provinces, a governor has no power at all, even to summons a regent. Here in Bali, most regents are still cooperative and willing to discuss problems with me, the chiefs of Desa Adat and other related parties. In Bali, the concept of autonomy should be adjusted to the island's social and cultural system.

Do you consider the current concept of regional autonomy inappropriate for Bali?

Since the New Order, the central government has tended to generalize and make all policies uniform. Citing an example, the concept of the desa (village) with its subdistrict heads (kecamatan) and other officials was unsuitable for Bali since we already have Desa Adat, a traditional organization of farmers who own adjacent rice fields (Desa Subak) and a village community group (banjar). Similarly, it would be better if Bali was allowed to implement regional autonomy only at the provincial level.

Are there any specific reasons to support your concept of regional autonomy?

Long before the Law on regional autonomy took effect, scholars, government officials, religious and traditional chiefs held a series of meetings to thoroughly study the content of the law and to decide whether it was fit for Bali. We concluded that Bali had unique characteristics in terms of its geographical condition and cultural, social and religious aspects.

Geographically, Bali is a tiny island with eight regencies and one mayoralty. Only two regencies (Badung and Gianyar) and one mayoralty (Denpasar) have an adequate regional income, while the rest are destitute. We assumed that full regional autonomy would widen the gap between rich and poor regencies and in the end to incite jealousy.

Historically and culturally, Bali is unified. We have religious temples located on bordering areas, and Subak organizations, which may involve members from two or more regencies.

Do you think Bali's concept of regional autonomy is applicable and will be approved by the central government?

With Megawati Soekarnoputri as the fifth Indonesian President, I am pretty optimistic that she will consider the idea. I have heard there is a discourse among legal experts, government officials and legislative bodies to review the existing Law on regional autonomy.

During your office term, which ends in 2003, what would you like to see for Bali and its people?

It is impossible to return Bali to its original condition in the early 20th century when people regarded this island as a paradise. But I will not "sell" my land to irresponsible investors.

I promised myself that I would safeguard the island from further destruction. This is my duty to Sang Hyang Widhi (God) and to the people of Bali. It is hoped that Bali can become a cultural capital again. I want all the people of Bali to enjoy the benefits of our prosperous tourism and other economic activities. Yet, I also expect that we, as Balinese, can jointly maintain and preserve our religious and cultural heritage. We should not be shy to follow the Japanese who have successfully kept their traditions while jumping into the high-tech world.