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LPD to Prop Up the Cultural Tourism of Bali
In the perspective of foreigners or people
from outside Bali, the Balinese are the
ones who are prosperously overwhelmed by
dollars, as Bali tourism is a “dollar
mine” that has been well known and
always exposed by the media as the world’s
most favorite tourist destination.
During the years of 1980-1990s, Bali was
categorized into a poverty-free region.
Many officials of regency level claimed
then that their region had no people living
in misery. At that time, many Balinese were
indeed “impelled” to sell their
land for the sake of tourism necessity.
Proceeds of selling the land were principally
spent on consumptive expenses and extravagant
matters, not for productive ones. Should
they have used it for doing business, but
without sufficient business management capability,
they would ultimately go bankrupt in the
midst of the passage.
The large number of agricultural fields
shifted into “concrete forest”,
actually indicates the process of “rising
poverty” that is progressing under
the Balinese people. The fact in the field
shows that and because of its impact up
to these days, numerous Balinese people
live under the poverty line. Tourism business
extends more benefits to the tourism businesspeople,
hotel owner, restaurateur, and owner of
tourist attractions or supermarket, which
mostly come from outside Bali.
The majority of Balinese people only work
as employees in lower ranks with an insufficient
monthly salary. A lot of productive time
of the Balinese is being spent for traditional
and socio-religious activities, so they
do not have an opportunity to occupy a strategic
position or manager in the tourism industry.
It’s worrisome that they would have
to take more days – off to conduct
these cultural activities and by that they
have to neglect their job responsibility.
However it is this kind of traditional activity
that attracted the tourists to come to Bali.
To finance such long and complicated traditional
activities, in some cases, they should borrow
money from the bank or sell the land inherited
from their ancestors. They virtually do
not have time to think about the tricks
how to run self-managed venture for financing
their traditional activities that are admired
by tourists and produce billions of revenues
for the nation. Expecting capital assistance
from the tourism businesspeople that have
reaped off the profits quietly from such
traditional activities? It has become prolonged
dream for the Balinese who has performed
the “yajna” (holy sacrifice)
to maintain and build the tourism of Bali.
To be able to come forward and compete against
the major investors from outside Bali in
the economic sector is just like “Waiting
for Godot, nothing happens, nobody comes,
nobody goes, it’s awful! The Balinese
who have poor education and lack of capital
cannot do much. Eventually, opportunities
in tourism industry remain to be controlled
by the hands of outsiders up to these days.
To a great extent, the recent phenomena
indicate that the Balinese are increasingly
flung away within the dynamic of tourism
and economic development. Traders arraying
in a row on the street side across Bali,
moreover at tourist objects, most of them
are outsiders. Hawkers, meatball soup sellers,
young coconut sellers and grilled fish sellers,
are all local migrants from outside Bali.
Such migrants obtain working capital easily
so they can do selling everywhere. Even,
the unusual phenomenon is that such migrants
have started to deeply involve in trading
of Balinese ritual paraphernalia (oblation)
like canang, daksina, wastra (cloth for
the shrines) and various kinds of jejahitan
(arrangements made of young coconut leaf).
Where there is a newly opened village market
or night market, many handicarts belong
to traders from outside Bali and will assuredly
throng there. Several vacant lands (belonging
to green belt) in Bali suddenly change into
night market of which all traders are from
outside Bali. This phenomenon sufficiently
comes in a reflection, that in the economic
sector, the Balinese has extremely flung
away from their homeland.
The cultural observer Ida Bagus Mantra indeed
has revealed the flinging of Balinese people
at their homeland since the development
of tourism, when he was the Governor of
Bali in 1980s. Balinese people who were
indigent and less educated were ensured
that they would lose in the competition
against local migrants from outside Bali
that have much capital and are sufficiently
educated. That’s why this prominent
figure initiated the event of Bali Arts
Festival and establishment of Village Credit
Union (LPD) at each customary village in
Bali. This financial institution that was
seemingly traditionally oriented was expected
to satisfy the capital needs of the Balinese
in the economic sector to uplift the social
prosperity and lend a hand to the Balinese
on obtaining the fund to finance their cultural
preservation. Vision and mission of the
LPD in the perspective of Ida Bagus Mantra
in fact is very virtuous, namely to release
the Balinese from the chain of poverty and
underdevelopment.
On every working visit as Governor of Bali,
Ida Bagus Mantra at all times rendered direction
in order that LPD should be well managed
and primarily provided services to villagers
in need the fund for rural economic ventures
so all economic potentials could be utilized
to assist the socio-religious activities
and preservation of Balinese culture. On
that account, it was suggested that the
management of the LPD combined the Balinese
traditional economic values, such as honesty,
hard work, paras-paros or tat tvam asi with
modern financial management.
Despite at the commencing phases, many LPDs
that could not be flourishing due to the
lack of reliable Balinese human resources
with capability in financial management,
Ida Bagus Mantra repeatedly extended encouragement
for ten years of his term as Governor of
Bali. Weakness on the management of LPD
then was because of the fact that many villagers
borrowed the money not to be used for productive
activity. Even, it was used for gambling
and getting involved in woman affairs. Additionally,
there were also some administrators of the
LPD that undertook corruption or misused
its finance so it then went bankrupt and
left by the community. How pity it was!
However, in keeping with the education advancement
of Balinese youngsters, their LPDs are managed
by these educated young generations educated
in economic domain or at least had experience
in finance. They are immensely energetic
and capable of adopting modern working pattern
and management. Lately, there are many LPDs
growing and flourishing with assets of billions
of rupiahs. Trust of the community has started
to come around and hold up the existence
of the LPD at their own village. More so,
it offers several financial products like
that of general banks flourishing in Bali.
That is worth observing, as the appeal of
Ida Bagus Mantra on initiating of the LPD
in Bali, is the concern with indigent Balinese
people should be improved. A couple of facilities
and right financial products for weak economic
groups, either that supporting the working
capital for the ventures or continuing the
study to higher education, should be provided
in order that Balinese people would not
be flung away from their homeland. The Regional
Government of Bali ought to continue its
support and allocate financial assistance
in compliance with the spirit of regional
autonomy so the Balinese could compete in
the economic sector that is now being controlled
by local migrants from outside Bali.
Just as the tourism businesspeople in Bali,
it is the time to care for the destiny of
LPD by allocating certain amount of the
profits to increase its capital and take
advantage of the services provided by LPD
in financial transactions. Payment of the
employees’ salary could also be settled
through the service of LPD. Or, hotel, restaurant
and tourist object make cooperation with
the LPD to create a financial product that
is beneficial for the convenience as well
as the improvement of services to tourists.
If the LPD grows and flourishes in Bali,
tourism would also get its outcome, as the
profit of the LPD will not be brought to
outside Bali or overseas. This profit will
be used to assist Balinese people in conserving
their culture, being the main tourist attraction
in Bali. Results of a research performed
by students of the Tourism Studies, Udayana
University proves that the primary interest
of tourist visit to Bali is to see the diversity
of Balinese unique tradition and culture
that they could not find elsewhere around
the globe.
Cultural tourism of Bali would be well preserved
if the Balinese have capital to maintain
their tradition and culture. The existence
of the LPD can indeed prop up the sustainability
of cultural tourism in Bali. Why are tourism
practitioners in Bali not willing to underpin
them? (BTN/Ketut Sumadi)
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