Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika is proposing sanctions for people begging from Muntigunung, Karangasem, saying he doesn’t want begging culture to spread to urban areas.
Muntigunung lies on the eastern slopes of Mt. Batur and is a particularly underprivileged region, according to a yayasan (foundation) working in the area.
“I’ll talk with the MUDP (traditional village) head. Perhaps, sanction it,” Pastika said in Denpasar on Wednesday, as quoted by Okezone.
“The village is also not that poor. I’ve been there a few times,” he said, suggesting people are not in dire enough straits that they need to panhandle for cash.
The governor says he suspects people take up begging there because of the lucrative results. He claims that as much as Rp 300k can be earned by beggars in just one day and that he once saw someone go to a Padang restaurant after begging.
Nonetheless, Pastika believes that a “comprehensive effort” needs to be taken to address begging, even if that means big fines should be levied on residents who are begging.
