Times of emergency may have finally spurred authorities in Bali into ditching their nice guy playbook, with foreign nationals now subject to immediate deportation should they be caught violating health protocols on the island.
“Let us reiterate to foreign nationals in Bali: we will deport foreigners if they violate existing regulations,” Jamaruli Manihuruk, Head of the Bali office for the Law and Human Rights Ministry, said yesterday.
The announcement came after President Joko Widodo ordered the strictest restrictions the country has seen during the pandemic, named the Emergency Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (Emergency PPKM or PPKM Darurat in Indonesian). While the Emergency PPKM is set to come into effect from July 3 to July 20, Bali officials said that it has already started in the province.
“Previously we were pretty soft, but this time around we will no longer remain soft, because this is an emergency,” Jamaruli said.
Jamaruli explained that authorities are simply implementing Article 75 of the 2011 Immigration Law. The article states that any actions deemed to be dangerous and suspected as such, are disrespectful or in violation of existing regulations, can lead to the deportation of a foreign national.
Health protocol violations may include not wearing a mask in public and hosting crowded gatherings. Jamaruli also said that fines of IDR1 million (US$68.71) for those without masks are no longer applicable during Emergency PPKM, as Bali and the rest of Indonesia are in the midst of an emergency.
