TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Bali administration is formulating rules to prevent tourists from misbehaving at sacred Hindu sites.

“This is the government’s attempt to maintain the Pura [temples]. The temples need to be preserved since they are the spirits of Bali’s cultures and customs,” said Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Sukawati in Denpasar on Monday.

Tjokorda Oka Artha, also known as Cok Ace, said he had met with public figures at the provincial legislative council (DPRD), and that the Bali administration decided it would evaluate the tourism system on the Island of Gods. "Is it because we are too open to tourists so there are too many of them?" he said.

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The need of such a regulation first emerged following the spread of an image on social media showing a tourist from Denmark in a squat position on top of a pelinggih, which is a sacred site for Hindu people, at Luhur Batukaru Temple in Tabanan, Bali. This is not the first time such an event happened.

Cok Ace said among the causes was the large number of tourists visiting Bali bereft of guides, and even when they were accompanied by guides, they were non-official guides. “This is an element for our evaluation, too,” said Cok Ace.

The chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Hindu Religious Councils (PHDI), I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, hoped the government could preserve the function of every temple in Bali. He also called on the government to use traditional villages and work with PHDI in managing temples and other sacred sites on the island.

ANTARA