Bali Provincial Government Denied Utsawa Dharma Gita Has Billions Of Rupiah Prize And Can Only Be Followed By Children Of Officials

Head of the Bali Provincial Culture Service I Gede Arya Sugiartha/DOC Bali Provincial Government

DENPASAR - The Provincial Government of Bali has denied the rumor that the Utsawa Dharma Gita competition has billions of rupiah in prizes and can only be joined by officials' children.

The Head of the Bali Provincial Culture Office I Gede Arya Sugiartha explained that the Bali Province Utsawa Dharma Gita would only be held in October 2023 as budget preparation for the 2024 National Utsawa Dharma Gita.

There are 26 types of competitions that will be held in accordance with national-level competitions.

"Our budget is IDR 1.2 billion in total for organizing costs and prizes. So it's not true that there are billions of rupiah in prizes," said Sugiartha as quoted from a written statement, Tuesday, January 24.

The Kadisbud also emphasized that there was no criterion that the Utsawa Dharma Gita competition could only be attended by officials' children.

"Nothing like that, this is really inconsequential news," he said.

Previously, a chain message was circulated via the WhatsApp application that mentioned Utsawa Dharma Gita competitions such as Mekidung, Mekekawin, Balinese Language Speech, Mesatua Bali & Mecepat with a total prize of billions of rupiah as coaching money.

In the message circulating it was also stated that participants must have parents as service heads or echelon 1, 2 & 3 officials, regional heads, directors, heads of MDA, or commissioners. The Bali Provincial Government denied the news about the prizes and competition conditions for the children of officials.

"All Bali Provincial Government activities, such as competitions, must have a written basis and be officially announced through the official channel of the Bali Provincial Government," said the Head of Bali's Communication and Information Office, Gede Pramana.