Bali Police Said About The Polemic Beach Club Lighting Fire Flower During Customary Ceremony

DENPASAR - Bali Regional Police responded to a viral video polemic at the Beach Club at Berawa Beach, Tibubeneng Village, North Kuta, Badung Regency, Bali when a resident of Banjar Tegal Gundul, Tibubeeng Village held a prayer ritual or traditional ceremony in the coastal area.

The Head of Public Relations of the Bali Police, Kombes Jansen Avitus Panjaitan, said that after a search was carried out, the video really happened.

According to him, there is a miscommunication between the beach club and indigenous peoples who carry out traditional ceremonies.

Jansen said that regarding the fireworks that were turned on as seen in the video that was widely circulated and went viral on social media, the beach club had complete permits and the activity of lighting fireworks was the daily routine in that place.

"The fire development is routine every day. It is certain that the permit is complete, maybe at the time of the incident, maybe there is a miscommunication not knowing there are religious activities," he said.

Jansen did not explain in detail regarding the permit, but he said, usually, the lighting of fireworks at the beach club is adjusted to community activities around the beach, especially if there is a traditional ceremony.

Usually if there is a religious ceremony, said Jansen, the management of BeachClub will delay the lighting of fireworks from 18.00-20.00 WITA.

Jansen said related to this, the management of BeachClub and indigenous peoples had met and agreed to end the polemic.

"We have mediated against the owner of the Beach Club and the community who carried out the ceremony. Until now there has been no problem," he said.

Mediation was carried out because it turned out that the fireworks activity received protests from the local community and Bali leaders.

"It turned out that there were activities that protested because they were practicing fireworks and were disturbed. So far, there is no problem with having received each other," he said answering questions about the reasons for mediation by the Badung Police.

Jansen ensured that the lighting of fireworks in the future would continue because it had become part of routine activities from the management of the beach club while paying attention to the situation of the local community.

"We hope that there will be no more miscommunications like that again, both of them remind each other," he said.

On Monday (14/10), the Facebook account Kodo Guang posted a video showing several Balinese indigenous peoples who are currently carrying out religious traditional ceremonies at night.

The location of the prayer is not far from a Beach Club. While praying, there was a boom in the sound of fireworks so that the prayer activity was disrupted. The post was also reposted by several accounts until it finally went viral on social media.