Balinese and Indonesian lies, lies, lies; will they never end?

Balinese and Indonesian lies, lies, lies; will they never end?
By Todd Curtis
Jun 29, 2007, 04:44

Deserted Kuta Beach at 2pm in May when Bali's liars claim record tourism figures, again!

When is a joke not funny? When it is sick, embarrassing and / or intended to be serious! Well, Bali and Indonesia tell a lot of bad jokes lately, none more so than those of self-appointed Bali tourism gob-piece John “Wetback” Daniels, AKA Jack. Recently Jack Daniels of PT Bali Discovery Tours’ falsehood purveying email trash piece, the Bali Update, has first tried to explain how it is possible the Bali Tourism and Airport Authority’s ridiculous claims regarding foreign arrivals is clearly at odds with reality on the street, by claiming they are a certain type of tourist that stay in their hotel rooms. Then shortly after documented liar and former illegal immigrant Daniels goes on to claim May 2007 is yet another record breaker for Bali tourism, while photographs published on travel forums show Kuta’s beaches totally empty at midday during the same month!

Former Bali PATA chairman, documented liar and criminal, Jack Daniels

It is a standing joke that Bali’s tourism “gurus” have been reporting record tourist arrivals each month since the 2002 terrorist bombings and that if their claims were true Bali would need to send aircraft full of western visitors away, not tell them every lie to get them to come. In addition data from other official sources proves that even with discounted bare bones deals to attract domestic and regional visitors to Bali have still left the benefiting package tour group hotels less than 30% full. But Bali’s wobble (a cheap and amateur version of spin) merchants still go on claiming the tourists are simply hiding and they exist in record numbers! Of course it is these nasty childish attempts to deceive western visitors into coming to Bali that turns people off and away. If only the Bali Tourism Board and it’s doting travel agents could see this! But then they are hardly likely to when even the widely perceived higher level regional travel body PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association), of which blatant liar Daniels is both an honorary member and former Bali Chapter Chairman, is not what it seems being nothing more than a travel industry marketing corporation based in the USA, which itself has drawn industry ridicule for its own alleged outdated 1970’s “sell, sell, sell” philosophy.

However the deceptions by the Balinese and Indonesian tourism lie machine seems to be getting much worse and nastier still. Recently the Indonesian Government cleared all of it primary airlines in a so-called safety audit after it was revealed the likes of state airline Garuda and cheap flights accident prone Adam Air were probably the least safe airlines in the world. Their check list for this so called audit included “surveillance” (how Indonesian) and generic “personnel” checks, but apparently failed to deliver any substantial technical or even professional evidence of aircraft integrity and / or pilot ability; you may recall Garuda recently has been losing a lot of its pilots who have walked out unhappy at the airline. So it seems Garuda has somehow managed to climb its way from the bottom of the airline safety league to the very top in 3 short months and after suffering other incidents; this according to the Indonesian authorities, hmmmm!

You send us sheep with wallets or else!

Of course Garuda Indonesia’s remarkable ability to become so safe so quickly in spite of personnel walk-outs and other reported problems has nothing to do with a) The airline's announcement it is likely to resume flights to Europe (Amsterdam actually, the route on which poor human rights defender Munir was murdered with arsenic apparently by Garuda airline staff who also work for Indonesia's “intelligence” agency BIN), or b) Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu’s clear attempts to blackmail Australia into sending more tourists by removing the travel safety warnings to Indonesia on the basis failure to do so would likely somehow “hamper commercial ties between the two countries”. After this, even if the Australian Federal Authority were to remove their safety warnings, would anyone be able to trust it was done for the right, honest reasons? However, good on yer Warren Truss, the Aussie Trade Minister for standing your ground against Pangestu on the basis the advisories have only recently been revised.

Newsflash: Since writing and publishing this article, the European Union is to ban all Indonesian airlines from flying to any of their member countries / states. This ban includes Garuda International and comes after and with knowledge of the Indonesian authorities claiming Garuda to be not just safe but in the top category regarding safety indicates the EU has dismissed the Indonesian claims as lies / falsehoods. The EU ban puts paid to Garuda's plan to resume its Amsterdam service and puts egg on the face of the Indonesian lie machine. An EU spokesman stated "European citizens should avoid flying with these carriers. They are really unsafe."

The clear attempts at deception by the “We hate you but want your dollars” Indonesian authorities to try and hoodwink western tourists into believing it is safe to fly into Bali to spend their money does not end there though, oh no! After miserably and embarrassingly failing to secure the removal of a US Homeland Security warning about the terrorist and security risks at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport, after Indonesian Director General of Civil Aviation at their Department of Transportation, Budhi Muliawan Suyitno had trumpeted they would, the Americans actually added more warnings about flying into Indonesia (see: Bali Airport and Aircraft Warnings). The Indonesian authorities faced with growing very appropriate concerns, reports and warnings about their airline and airport dollar lifelines seem to have decided not to do something tangible about it, but to go the traditional Indonesian route of publishing contrary falsehoods. That’s right, in spite of International data to the contrary, the Indonesian Authorities declared their airports safe and Bali’s airport the safest of all, although their supporting technical data and rationale were somehow kept back! We can just imagine the evaluation of Indonesia’s airport safety board going something like this; “OK, we say all Indonesian airports are safe and that Bali’s airport is really safe as the president opened the Bali Arts Festival on the 18th and was embarrassed because no-one besides the local hags showed up. All agreed?”

It is all a sick and not so funny joke the way the Indonesian authorities and Balinese tourism board and industry treat westerners, trying to convince families to bring their dollars and daughters to Bali on the basis the Indonesian airlines and airports are safe when it is clear they are some of the most dangerous in the world. But the last laugh is on the liars of Bali and Indonesia who know no better than to try and recover with yet further lies-upon-lies-upon-lies; it is not working, western tourists are avoiding Bali with good cause and now indignation. Do not risk your family’s safety by spending your time and bucks on this feigned paradise island of hate; spend your money elsewhere with people that respect your basic rights first, not the contents of your wallet.