The cocks of Bali now have the ultimate ally against foreigners who can’t stand crowing roosters: Governor Wayan Koster.
Instead of kowtowing to several foreigners’ demands, the administrative head of Bali said that locals should ignore their complaints and keep as many cocks as they can.
Koster was responding to a complaint filed earlier this month with the South Kuta Public Order Agency by a group of 17 foreign tourists, consisting of American and Russian nationals, at a homestay in Jimbaran. The complainants said the noise from roosters crowing at dawn disrupted their sleep.
“Keep as many chickens as you can. How can one forbid [us] to keep chickens?” Koster said over the weekend.
“If they do not like the crow of roosters, then they don’t have to come to Bali. That’s it. We have no business dealing with such people.”
Chickens are commonly kept as pets in households throughout Bali and Indonesia.
Separately, the Head of the Bali Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Anggiat Napitupulu, said that his department has informed the American who led the complaint of his cultural faux pas, adding that he could get deported if he creates a public nuisance by pressing on the matter.
“If he makes another complaint, that would mean that he intentionally creates public disorder,” Anggiat said.
Governor Wayan Koster has taken a stern stance against miscreant foreigners lately, threatening to tighten visa rules and prohibiting motorbike rentals amid an increase in the reported number of violations.
