President Prabowo Criticizes Bali Governor for Waste Management Problems, Points out Their Negative Impact on Tourism

President Prabowo Subianto publicly criticizes the Bali regional government, including the Governor and Regents, for their waste management problems which are considered to have polluted the environment and threatened the sustainability of national tourism, at Sentul International Convention Center (SICC), Bogor Regency, West Java Province (02/02).

President Prabowo Subianto publicly criticized the Bali regional government, including the Governor and Regents, for their waste management problems which are considered to have polluted the environment and threatened the sustainability of national tourism. The President emphasized that the waste problems must not be allowed to persist and should be addressed through concrete action and firm leadership rather than through mutual blame game.

“In resolving the waste problems, we need cooperation between the central government and regional governments. However, we cannot wait. Therefore, if necessary, for the sake of the people, the central government will take the lead,” the President stressed in his briefing at the 2026 National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) of Central and Regional Governments at the Sentul International Convention Center (SICC), Bogor Regency, West Java Province, Monday (02/02).

The President specifically highlighted the condition of Bali’s beaches, which he said had tarnished Indonesia’s tourism image. He revealed that he had personally received complaints from foreign figures regarding Bali’s increasingly dirty environment.

“He spoke to me and said, ‘Your Excellency, I just came from Bali. Oh, Bali is so dirty now. Bali is not nice.’ Well, I take that as a correction. This is something we must address together,” the President said.

The President stated that tourism is one of the sectors which can create jobs and absorb a large number of workers in a relatively very short time. However, the sector will not be sustainable if the environment, particularly leading tourism destinations such as Bali, is allowed to become dirty and degraded.

“Sorry for this, Governor and Regents of Bali. This is a fact. This is Bali in December 2025. This is a beach in Bali. How can tourists come if they see garbage there?” the President said.

On the occasion, the President directly instructed the Governor and regional heads in Bali to take full responsibility for environmental cleanliness, including by involving schools and communities in regular community clean-up activities.

The President further stressed that if regional governments fail to act swiftly, the central government is ready to take the lead in waste management efforts for the benefit of the public. He also stated that he would mobilize the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), the Indonesian National Police (Polri), state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and all ministries and agencies to participate directly in mass clean-up operations.

“If the Regents and Governor cannot do it, I will instruct the District Military Commander and the Regional Military Commander to mobilize their personnel for clean-up duties. Every day or every few days, clean-up, clean-up, clean-up. The police will also be mobilized for clean-up duties. Then it can be saved,” the President stressed.

Concluding his briefing, President Prabowo stated that Indonesia must declare a war on waste. According to the Head of State, waste is not merely an aesthetic issue, but also a serious public health threat and a potential environmental disaster risk.

The President’s message serves as a strong warning as well as a call to action that Indonesia’s tourism sector will only be sustainable if the environment is protected, and leadership is exercised decisively, swiftly, and in the interests of the people. (BPMI of the Presidential Secretariat) (AY/TM)