SERANGAN ISLAND ~ PT BTID (Bali Turtle Island Development) spokesmen said that they did not prohibit Serangan citizens from passing through Serangan Island.

Dirty and Beny, two of BTID’s prominent figures, said that they coordinated the development project with officials in Serangan.

“The issue of our prohibiting citizens was blow out of proportion by a certain person,” Dirty and Beny said, referring to a meeting sponsored by the Society Management Organization of Serangan last week in which citizens claimed that BTID was barring them from entry throughout the island.

BTID provided Serangan citizens with economic benefits, the spokesmen said, adding that the connecting bridge had already been built to accommodate citizens who would no longer need to rent jukungs (small boats) in order to travel to Bali.

The two men added that they hoped the entire BTID project would be realized as soon as possible in order to create a field of opportunities for local citizens.

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BULELENG ~ Celukan Bawan was established as an industrial and business area because it had the biggest sea harbor in Buleleng, the Celukan Bawang Harbor, a spokesman said.

Buleleng had a coastline of 144 km in length, he said.

“Sea access offers Buleleng the potential to develop sea communication,” the spokesman stated, adding that Buleleng needed to further develop infrastructure so that transportation of passengers and cargo into Bali through Buleleng would grow.

The regency government had coordinated with National Shipping Lines in order to develop a passenger harbor; in the future, the Celukan Bawang area was expected to become the biggest industrial and business area in northern Bali, he said.

Celukan Bawang currently consisted of four piers, two storehouses and a materials storage field, he stated.

Development programs were being implemented, including the development and arrangement of the harbor: An entry gate had been built, and the aqueduct and a building that housed the waiting room were also being prepared, he said.

In order to accommodate cruise shapes, 200 meters would be added to the second main pier, funded by the Bali province budget, the spokesman added.

A Japanese cruise ship would anchor in the harbor upon completion of the project, he said.

DENPASAR ~ Before June, the Bali Tourism Board (BTB) will launch a Warung Lipat program, in which a brochure-type, pocket-sized small map detailing dining venues and their locations will be published, a spokesman said.

The map would publish 40 venues in Badung, Denpasar and Gianyar, head of the BTB said at a press meeting on Wednesday.

“We want to promote local cuisine for domestic tourists whose lives are similar to locals in Bali. They loved eating at roadside stalls, so we’ve provided them with a list of various, hygienic stalls that would suit their tastes,” Ida Bagus Nurjaya said.

BTB worked with Chefs ‘R’ Us, who publishes and distributes a free monthly food magazine, to help design the Warung Lipat brocure and make it look professional, he said.

The program aimed to support the local industry by spotlighting small stalls, he said.

For instance, he said small places in Setia Budia, Denpasar, that offered jingo rice, a small portion of rice and a side dish wrapped in paper or a leaf, were shown on the map.

I Komang Arsana, an Indonesia Chef Association Bali representative, commented that local Balinese food had excellent value.

“We will try to guide domestic tourists by serving them healthy and interesting food,” he said.

UBUD ~ Monkeys in Monkey Forest, Ubud, visited by an average of 150 tourists per day, were accused this week of biting foreign tourists, a spokesman said.

However, I Gde Sunarta, a staff member of Monkey Forest, said that such incidents occurred when visitors did not obey the forest’s rules.

“We receive reports every month of visitors getting bitten by monkeys. However, those cases occur when people don’t obey the rules. For instance, visitors are told not to wear sparkly materials,” he said.

Sunarta also said that monkey bites were generally not serious injuries and that victims never had to seek hospital treatment.

Monkeys in the forest were tame, although they tended to steal wallets, food, bags and anything that sparkled, he stated, but that was also why the forest had rules.

If visitors obeyed the rules, problems with the monkeys could be avoided, he added.

KUTA ~ Rudi Prasetyo, from Sidoarjo, was arrested over suspicion of theft, police said.

Prasetyo allegedly confessed to police that he had broken into six hotels in Kuta and had robbed approximately 12 rooms, including rooms at the Tunjung Bali Hotel on Jl. Padma, the Gora Inn an on Jl. Poppies II and the Benesri Hotel, also on Jl Poppies II.

Police said that Prasetyo admitted to entering rooms 209, 210 and 211 at the Tunjung Bali Hotel and stealing Rp1 million (US$107), a cellphone and a digital camera.

At Benesari, he allegedly stole Rp1.2 million, another cellphone and another camera from rooms 422 and 411.

Prasetyo was suspected of having also stolen a cellphone from room 14 at the Dua Dara Hotel on Jl. Legian and a mobile phone and DVD player from rooms 114 and 118 at the Lusa Inn Hotel on Jl. Melasti, police stated.

The goods were supposedly sold in Denpasar and Surabaya, they said.

“We already had photos of the thief. We were just developing the case against him. He had also Allegedly broken into a Radisson hotel room,” a police spokesman said.

BANGLI ~ Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik said a recent decline of tourists was due to natural factors and did not signify that Visit Indonesia Year 2008 (VIY 2008) had failed.

“I admit, the day after we launched VIY 2008, a flooding disaster in Jakarta cut off access to the airport,” he said in a meeting with locals in Toya Bungkah, Batur.

At the meeting, locals criticized the way VIY 2008 had been implemented, but the minister said he would keep trying to make the program a success.

“The Culture and Tourism Ministry will work hard to attract as many tourists as possible to Indonesia,” he said, adding that he hoped local people would be united in supporting the program.

“If we are united, even our biggest problems can be solved,” Wacik said.

DAUH PURI ~ Sugiura Mamoru, 56, a Japanese man, was sentenced to eight months in prison this week for violating immigration regulations, officials said.

“I will accept any punishment I should bear. I realize that I am guilty. I’m ready to be punished,” Mamoru said at the Denpasar District Court.

The sentence was lighter than the 12 months’ jail prosecutor Agung Kusumayasa Diputra had requested.

The defendant had violated article 52, Regulation No. 9, 1992, Diputra said.

Mamoru had overstayed his visa, which had expired on October 12, 2000, the prosecutor added.