Removal of religious term draws wave of protests

The deletion of the religious term Bhisama from an article in the controversial zoning bylaw by Bali’s Provincial Legislative Council has attracted mounting opposition and protest from the island’s prominent scholars, religious leaders and environmental activists.

Representatives from the Hindu Parisadha Council, the Team for Upholding Temples’ Sanctity (TPBKP) and the Indonesia Hindu Students Association (KMHDI) visited the Bali Legislative Council building in Renon on Thursday to urge the councilors to retain the term in the revised draft of the bylaw.

Previously on Tuesday, representatives from Forum Gumi Bali, a coalition of environmental NGOs and human rights activists, had already visited the building and delivered a similar message. Separately, the front pages of several local newspapers over the past few days have contained statements from prominent intellectuals and community leaders condemning the councilors’ political move.

Amid the growing public pressure, the legislative council’s special committe tasked with revising the bylaw postponed the approval of the revised version of the bylaw for an undetermined period of time.

A bhisama (religious edict) is a decision on a specific matter issued by the Sabha Pandita (council of high priests) from the Hindu Parisadha religious council. Balinese Hindus generally revere the bhisama as a sacred document and believe that violating it will bring supernatural consequences.

The disputed bhisama, which was issued in 1994, deals with the establishment of sacred zones around the island’s major temples. The bhisama stipulates that a sacred zone spans five kilometers outward from the outer wall of the temple.

The 2009 Zoning and Spatial Arrangement Bylaw, which used the bhisama as one of its legal foundations, prohibits the construction of any tourism facilities in sacred zones.

The 2009 bylaw, which is supported by Bali governor Made Mangku Pastika, religious leaders and environmental activists, also offers strong protection to the island’s environmental highspots by prohibiting construction along riverbanks, cliff edges, and coastal shorelines.

However, strong opposition from regents, regional leaders and investors hampered the implementation of the bylaw. Eventually, they managed to persuade the Provincial Legislative Council to revise the bylaw.

The idea to delete the term bhisama was first presented by Badung regent A.A. Gde Agung and later supported by Gianyar regent Cokorda Artha Ardana Sukawati.

Badung and Gianyar are among three regency-level regions that have enjoyed strong economies due to a booming tourism industry. Their regents have repeatedly stated that the bylaw, and the moratorium on new hotel development in southern Bali announced by Mangku Pastika early this year, would hamper the flow of investment to the regions.

Indonesia Hindu Parisadha’s Sabha Pandita chairman Ida Pedanda Sebali Tianyar Arimbawa warned the councilors not to heed the ideas proposed by the regents and mayor.

“The councilors should instead listen to the people’s aspirations. The island’s high priests issued the bhisama to safeguard Bali, while the wishes and ideas of the regents and mayor have often endangered the island,” he said to the Council’s vice speaker I.B. Sukartha and scores of councilors.

“The revision of the bylaw was triggered by the regents’ and mayor’s rejection of it,” one of the councilors, I Made Arjaya, admitted.

Separately, the provincial administration declared that it was ready to implement the bylaw and urged the councilors to take note of the growing public opposition toward the revision of the bylaw.