We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Hell hath no fury like Indonesian netizens scorned. Although, this time, it looks like foreigners are also furious.
It did not take long for vlogger Nuseir Yassin, more popularly known as Nas Daily, to trigger outrage in Indonesia after he finally managed to enter the country via Bali last weekend. He was reportedly denied entry in 2018 as he held an Israeli passport.
Reports say that the Arab-Israeli content creator entered Indonesia with a Saint Kitts and Nevis passport (in a TikTok video uploaded last October, Yassin said he entered Malaysia using the same passport, which he obtained from the small Caribbean nation for US$150,000).
Known for his minute-long videos about travel experiences that are often so positive it’s NutraSweet, Yassin immediately posted several clips about his long-awaited visit to Bali. In one clip, titled, “The Whitest Island in Asia,” his trademark faux-positive persona was on full display as he marveled about how “white” the island is.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. It seems like every Western tourist in the world comes to live in Bali,” Yassin wrote in the video’s caption.
“Why? Now that I’m finally inside, I found the answer!”
In the clip, Yassin highlighted four reasons as to why many white (and “non-white” people AKA other foreigners) call Bali their home, namely the island’s nature (with a shot of him being surrounded by paddy fields); hospitality (highlighting hotels in Bali and the hospitality of the locals); prices (where he said, “Everything is affordable to white tourists at least”); and scooters (with shots of him driving around with other scooter riders).
While the comments to the video were initially positive (especially on Yassin’s Bahasa Indonesia account), the negative comments gradually became overwhelming.
Many of the comments on Instagram pointed out that the clip glorifies gentrification on the island while overlooking how locals are exploited for the sake of tourism dollars.
“Currently, locals are underpaid, nature is over-exploited, and tourists act like a savior by just paying $4 in a restaurant and disobeying the law because they think they help the poor by being here,” one user wrote.
“I feel like this is how the world currently view Bali in general which is a little upsetting. The media doesn’t cover the fact that there are hundreds of scooter accidents because of foreigners driving around without caution or a helmet,” another chimed in.
Even folks on Twitter began to speak up, which is never a good sign.
Social media activist Ni Luh Djelantik, who is always one to call out problematic foreigners on the island, responded to Yassin’s video on her Instagram by calling it “misleading”
“Bali is not your home. Bali is a place that give you HOME. You come here as a tourist ; yes please. You come here to make a living ; then please follow the rules and law applied in our country. Such as working permit and tax on your revenue. When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” she wrote on her post.
Anggi (who asked to be identified by a pseudonym to avoid backlash), a hotel manager in Canggu, said she has no issue with Yassin’s video as it promotes tourism in Bali at a time when the industry’s workers are struggling.
“At the end of the day, Bali needs tourism and if the video promotes tourism then this is good,” Anggi said, noting that Yassin could’ve perhaps conveyed his message in a more sensitive way.
The negative comments directed towards Yassin’s video bring to mind the hate received by Kristen Gray in 2021 and Forbes over their article encouraging readers to “quit that day job” and “move to an island that’s so cheap you don’t have to work.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the earlier version of this article, we wrote that Yassin bought his Saint Kitts and Nevis passport for US$150. The correct one is US$150,000. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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