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espite the animosity that a large number of Balinese silently harbor toward non-Balinese migrant workers, the island needs them to cope with the growing demand for manual laborers, especially in the construction industry.

“Bali still needs migrant workers. Their role is critical in turning the economic wheel, particularly in the trade and construction sectors,” Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Bali office head Gede Suarsa stated Monday.

Suarsa revealed that as of September there were 839,373 non-Balinese temporary residents in Bali, a large majority of which are migrant workers.  

The number includes new temporary residents who entered the island in the post-Lebaran period. The island’s capital, Denpasar, and two regencies with a large tourism industry, Badung and Gianyar, host the largest population of temporary residents.

“The fact that the island still needs migrant workers is the very reason why every operation targeting this population must be carried out respectfully,” he said.

In recent years, cities and villages in Bali routinely launch operation targeting non-Balinese migrant workers.  

Those who are found without proper ID cards would be deported back to their hometowns in the neighboring islands of Java and Lombok.

Non-Balinese residents with steady jobs can apply for resident ID cards while those with non-steady jobs, including laborers and construction workers, can apply for temporary resident ID cards.

“The operation is not an expression of the anti-migrant worker sentiment, but to anticipate security threats, such as the infiltration of terrorists,” Denpasar civil registration office head Nyoman Gde Narendra said, adding that the migrant workers must apply for ID cards and report themselves to the relevant government agencies immediately after they take residence in Bali.

“But there are several jobs that the Balinese are reluctant to do and we need these migrant workers to fill those jobs,” he added.

Suarsa said that the construction sector, from road development and maintenance to hotel construction, is continuously growing and had a constant demand for a large number of laborers.

“A large majority of construction workers come from outside Bali, in particular from East Java, Madura island and Lombok Island,” he said.

There is similar demand in the trade sector, from food vendors and basic commodities traders to barbers.

“These migrant workers are willing to do jobs that the local Balinese are reluctant to do.  Most of these jobs lie in the non-formal sector and up to 90 percent of the migrant workers find employment in this sector,” Suarsa said.

Made Bagiada, the pioneer of the garbage bank in Denpasar, echoed a similar sentiment, saying it was difficult to find a local Balinese willing to work collect trash. Nearly all his dozens of workers are non-Balinese migrant workers.

“The Balinese generally want jobs in a clean environment. They are willing to work as a waiter or shop assistant because those jobs will place them in a clean environment. Here I give my workers a good salary and bonus, yet it is still difficult to attract local workers,” he said.