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Posted by ® Mark (Admin) on November 20, 2005 at 8:49 pm:
Hi everyone
I am actually in the process of redoing this site (The Bali and Lombok Travel Forum).
May I first let you know I have been accused of being in favour of boycotting Bali / Lombok / Indonesia and of owning various anti-corruption and boycott Bali web sites, despite the fact these other sites are not in my name and anyone who knows me well enough knows I am not shy about putting my name to anything I write / own, and that I have made my views clear time and time again; that people should continue to go to Bali but to take sensible precautions for their own health and safety and only deal with 100% ethical / legal companies (hotels, travel agents, etc.).
You will also probably be aware I am doing everything I can to put Jack Daniels and certain corrupt police officers (especially one Officer Tri Kuncoro) in jail for collusion, corruption and more. Bringing justice to such people in Indonesia is not easy, just ask Transparency International; but I will persevere. You may also be aware my name has been placed on Interpol’s watch list as a suspected terrorist and / or insurgent by the Balinese police while the only formal investigation they are conducting against me (outside their jurisdiction and through documented collusion with Jack Daniels) is for naming him / his company in all of this and for calling the police “corrupt”. My London lawyers have now filed a formal petition with Interpol to have my details removed and to investigate the Indonesian police for their actions under Interpol’s anti-corruption mandate which the Indonesian police are a signatory to. Unfortunately this will take time as Interpol is by UN Charter a law unto itself, but I have received some indication from the British Foreign Office that they will intervene if Interpol do not act quickly and properly. In addition, despite the fact the Indonesian Corruption Commission have been exposed recently as being unable or unwilling to do anything about police corruption, my hope and belief is that this will soon change and that both Daniels and his bent friends in brown will soon be behind bars. That is not the all of it, but it will do for here and now.
Anyway, it is a fact that fraud and corruption are rife in Bali / Indonesia, and I am 100% convinced that the businesses which are 100% honest, ethical and legal provide the very best in terms of customer satisfaction and giving tourists a true taste of Bali. I therefore have decided to change the information pages on this site;
a) To detail the corruption, subsequent risks, etc., how to spot and avoid it and what to do about it; but without putting people off going to Bali and Lombok if they take sensible precautions and avoid what is clearly bad / risky .
b) Promoting only the decent, legal business in Bali and Lombok.
Therefore, if any of you know any hotels, villas, travel agents, tour operators, dive operators, drivers, etc. who fulfill the new BLTF “featured site” criteria, it will be my honour and pleasure to list them on the site so they hopefully suffer less from Bali’s / Lombok’s tourism / economic woes and take business from the people who least deserve it. I am also open to any suggestions as to anything that needs to be added / deleted from my proposed featured site criteria;
BLTF Featured Sites Criteria:
1) Any business must be 100% legal; that is they must have ALL the required licenses for a business of their type and its operations in Bali (foreign licenses etc. are not valid on their own); for example, villas would need to have a hotel or melati operating license and, as applicable, liquor license, vehicle tourism use license, spa license, etc. Also all businesses listed with us must not be involved in any unlawful business practices, such as operating a twin book accounting system to avoid paying taxes. Drivers offering transport need to have valid tourism licenses and have passenger insurance. Car rental companies must provide well maintained, safe / road worthy vehicles with excellent brakes and air conditioning, plus full rental permits for their vehicles and limit the CDW to US$100 or less. Finally, all staff must be properly documented and working legally in Bali / Indonesia; all foreign workers must have a valid KITAS.
2) The business must be 100% ethical; that is treating their staff, suppliers and customers properly. For example, all service charge money taken by hotels and villas must be given to the staff and equally so; none should be taken by the senior management. Suppliers and staff must be paid on time. Customers must never be taken to a third party where a commission is made if they buy anything. Businesses who have any connection with the Suharto Family are excluded from being able to be featured with BLTF. Businesses or their owners who have used fraud in the past may not be featured with BLTF. BLTF can not list any business who colludes with or in any way condones and / or abuses the immensely corrupt authorities and / or police and / or judiciary that exists in Indonesia.
3) Featured businesses must be 100% Balinese friendly; this is they must not ever have done anything to hurt the people or cultural rules of Bali. For example BLTF could not list hotels such as Le Meridien Nirwana for being built overlooking Tanah Lot (they received a highly contested permit despite building regulations protecting temples), the Grand Bali Beach for being taller than the highest coconut palm tree (this building regulation was waived solely for this hotel), or the Four Seasons in Sayan for being built too close to the local temple against the express wishes of local Hindu Balinese (again building regulations were apparently waived).
4) Their customers and their staff must come first. BLTF is not interested in featuring any business who sent staff home on half or no pay during hard times (such as directly after the October 2002 terrorist bombings). BLTF also only want to list businesses that put the best interests of their customers first, for example; dive companies must have the highest standards for instructors (which they must religiously enforce) and provide the very best in decompression services. Reservation agents & tour operators should either have bonded insurance or maintain a bank guarantee scheme which 100% guarantees the return of any customer payments made in advance in the event the agent has financial and / or operational problems, or allow the guest to pay the hotel / villas directly. BLTF can not list marketing companies masquerading as travel agents.
Email recommendations / responses preferred.
Regards
Mark
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