Bali Governor I Wayan Koster has refuted claims by Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Nusron Wahid, who suggested that some islands in Bali and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) may be under the control of foreign nationals.
“There is no island owned by foreigners,” Koster said during a press conference in Denpasar on 2 July. “If they own villas there, yes, that exists,” he added.
Koster clarified that the presence of foreigners on small islands in Bali stems from tourism-related investments, not ownership. “There is no foreign control. What exists is investment — people building tourism facilities. There are hotels, restaurants, villas, just like anywhere else,” he said.
Investment said to follow legal procedure
He also stressed that foreign investments on Bali’s islands have followed existing regulations. However, Koster said his administration is prepared to crack down on any irregularities.
“If procedures are not followed, we already have a task force in place. If they don’t comply, we’ll take firm action,” he said, citing the recent closure of a major tourism development project in Pantai Bingin as an example.
Koster said the Bingin case, where a large investment was found in breach of regulations, prompted a demolition order. “Because it violated the rules, I asked for it to be shut down and dismantled,” he said.
Governor seeks coordination to resolve issue
In response to Nusron Wahid’s remarks, Koster said he would coordinate with both the Ministry of ATR/BPN and the Ministry of Tourism to clarify the situation and correct any misinformation regarding alleged foreign control over Bali’s islands.
The governor’s comments follow Nusron’s statement to Commission II of the House of Representatives on 1 July, where the minister claimed there were reports of small islands in Bali and NTB being sold to or controlled by foreign nationals.
“There are several cases,” Nusron said. “We don’t know how the process went — suddenly the land or island is controlled by foreigners. We will check the legal standing.”id
Nusron added that his office would investigate how these land transactions occurred and whether they comply with existing laws.
