‘Biggest Event in Island’s History’

NUSA DUA ~ The first-ever Asian Beach Games will be held in Bali next year, with up to 10,000 people expected to arrive, in what the organizers say will be the “biggest event in the history of Bali.”

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JAKARTA ~ A court’s acquittal of US mining giant Newmont of dumping toxic waste would reassure companies operating here and may boost Indonesia’s drive to attract foreign investors, analysts said.

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The lead story in this week’s paper, revealing details of what is said to be the largest event to ever be held on this island, is a major step forward for Bali on the world stage.

We applaud the Olympic Council of Asia for its no-bid decision to stage the first Asian Beach Games at locations around Bali in October next year. As officials told this newspaper earlier in the week, the choice was designed to provide a boost to the globally renowned island that has been bouncing back from troubled times.

The Games are a truly important event – some 10,000 people are expected and proceedings will be beamed around the 45 participating countries, the organizers say. Therefore, this will be a rare opportunity for the authorities here to showcase the island to an international audience, and early signs are that officials are indeed taking note.

With foreign investment dollars continuing to pour into Bali, and visitor numbers at record highs, the momentum for a bright future for this tiny island is growing by the month.

SEMINYAK ~ Foreign residents and Indonesians traveling abroad are still required to pay a so-called fiscal tax upon departure, a tax official told The Bali Times on Thursday, denying rumors this week based on erroneous media reports that it had been scrapped.

Earlier reports that the controversial policy had been lifted and that no such fees was now levied on residents exiting the country were false, a spokesman for the Bali Tax Office, Rizal Kurniawan, said.

“There is no change in the policy; there is no free fiscal (tax) for expatriates or Indonesians when they leave Indonesia,” he said.

Expatriates were treated the same as Indonesian citizens when it came to paying fiscal tax, he added.

Under Minister of Finance Decree No. 30/KMK.04/98, fiscal tax rates are set at Rp1 million (US$110) for departure by air, Rp500,000 by sea and Rp250,000 by land.

But in an era of cheap air travel provided by a mushrooming budget airline sector, many complain that the fiscal tax is burdensome because in some cases it can cost more than airplane tickets themselves.

Flying with the region’s most successful no-frills carrier, AirAsia, from Bali to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur for a two-day trip on the weekend of May 4 cost Rp859,998 for the cheapest return ticket at the airline’s booking website on Thursday morning.

That excludes other tariffs like airport tax of Rp100,000 for overseas destinations and necessary exit-permit stamps in foreign residents’ passports that could add Rp350,000 or more.

However, the government points out that if a trip is for business purposes, the fiscal tax can be used as credit in employers’ annual tax payments. For those paying fiscal tax and traveling overseas for leisure or personal reasons, it can be used as credit on their personal income tax.

In addition, foreigners living in Indonesia and working for representative offices of overseas firms can be exempt from paying fiscal tax.

I Made Sutarjana is a supervisor at the Maya Ubud Resort and Spa. A father of two, the 36-year-old practices white magic and uses it, he says, to communicate with spirits. Made shared his day with The Bali Times’ Arga Sagitarini

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SINGAPORE ~ Singapore and Indonesia have agreed on an extradition treaty that Jakarta hopes will boost its fight against corruption, the foreign ministers of both nations said.

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KUALA LUMPUR ~ Indonesian waters remain the most dangerous in the world, accounting for nearly a quarter of all pirate attacks in the first three months of the year, an international maritime watchdog said.

Overall, however, attacks reported globally fell by nearly a third to 41 compared with the same period last year, the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Indonesia recorded nine incidents. Although it continues to top the table, Indonesia should be applauded for the proactive efforts it has taken to tackle the problem,” the IMB said.

Since last year, Indonesia has intensified sea patrols and seen attacks halve from 19 in the first quarter of 2006.

The maritime watchdog said while reported attacks declined globally, waters off Nigeria and Somalia “continue to give concern,” IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said.

The IMB said the number of attacks in Nigeria doubled to six coupled with violent attacks on seafarers, adding that 40 crew members had been taken hostage or kidnapped in the West African country.

“These have included a number of violent attacks against vessels and crew working in offshore oil installations where crew have been assaulted and abducted,” it said.

The IMB urged seafarers in general to be on alert while in port since ports and anchorages were more prone to attacks.

“Balongan in Indonesia, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Lagos in Nigeria recorded four, three and four incidents respectively,” it said.

Ships were also warned to sail 75 nautical miles from the Somali coastline. The IMB said the civil war made it difficult for local authorities to provide aid if a ship came under pirate attack.

Piracy in Southeast Asia’s strategic Malacca Strait continued to decline with just two attacks in the first three months, it said, adding that attacks in Bangladesh had also fallen substantially to just two incidents compared with nine in the same period last year.

But the IMB nevertheless warned seafarers last week to remain on alert while sailing through the strait.

The three littoral states bordering the strait - Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia - have implemented several security measures, including coordinated air and sea patrols, to secure the vital waterway.

Half of the world’s oil shipments travel through the strait.