Bali Fights for Rp 30T in Regional Funds
Monday, 13 February, 2012 | 13:31 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Denpasar, Bali:The Bali Struggle for Rights Forum (FPHB) on Sunday has declared that the organization will fight for regional balancing funds allocated by the central government worth Rp30 trillion. “The funds were gained from taxes collected from companies operating in Bali. However, the taxes were instead diverted to Jakarta,” said Nyoman Dhamantra, the initiator if the declaration.

Dhamantra believes that these funds are required to support Bali’s Hindu-based cultural preservation efforts. So far, there has been injustice found in the efforts. The cultural preservation funds are borne by the Balinese themselves, including the costs of some traditional ceremonies. The effort to obtain the funds was also made to preserve traditional arts which have been the main tourist attraction in Bali.

The balancing funds received by Bali province has been very little—Rp6.9 trillion recorded in the 2012 Bali’s Budget Execution List. The funds must be distributed between the provincial administration and nine regencies and cities.

ROFIQI HASAN