Leaders in Bali have shared their concerns in a recent statement issued by the new President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, that Bali should become the new Singapore or new Hong Kong with the presence of North Bali International Airport.
President Subianto visited Buleleng Regency during his election campaign and promised the people of the region that he would be the leader who could finally and successfully get the project off the ground.
Not only that, he promised that he would do so in a way that honored Balinese culture and the landscapes.
Over the weekend, President Subianto visited Denpasar as part of his first official visit to Bali Province. He told the media and gathered audience, “North Bali Airport as I have conveyed that I am committed, I want to build North Bali International Airport.”
He added, “We will make Bali make the new Singapore and Hong Kong, where we will be the center of this region.”
He was clear that the development would lead to more abundant futures for Balinese people, noting, “Indonesia must be prosperous, and Indonesia must be prosperous and fair; all Indonesians must enjoy prosperity, not just a few people, agree?”
However, not all leaders in Bali have been impressed by the President’s comments, with some coming forward to the media to express their concerns.
Putu Anom, an academic from Udayana University in Bali, explained that aiming to make Bali the new Singapore or Hong Kong of South East Asia could have potentially disastrous impacts on the province and risk destroying everything that makes the island so unique.
Anom explained, “It doesn’t have to be the same as Singapore or Hong Kong. Those are city-states. All skyscrapers. Not necessarily create [that] exactly. We just closely observe the future. Skyscrapers like that are not for Bali.”
He explained that, in his opinion, although Singapore is the most developed nation in Southeast Asia, it does not have the natural or cultural heritage that Bali has.
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