Bali Running Club that Barred Locals Sparks Row, Organisers Banned
PerbesarEditor’s Note: To ensure this vital conversation transcends language barriers, kumparan is publishing this special report in English. It is our intent that all expatriates, digital nomads, and international visitors residing in Indonesia can fully follow this issue. We hope this serves as an invitation for the foreign community to reflect on the sentiments of the local public and help foster a more inclusive, respectful environment in Bali and across the nation.
Indonesian police and immigration authorities have launched investigations into a Bali-based running community after it allegedly barred local residents from participating in its events while permitting foreign nationals, sparking accusations of racism and discrimination that spread widely on social media.
Bali Police spokesman Kombes Pol Ariasandy said Badung District Police had been deployed to gather evidence on the community's activities.
"Badung police are currently working to collect evidence to address this issue," he told reporters on Friday (7/24), adding that authorities would question the group's organizers and others linked to the events to determine whether any laws had been broken.
He said no formal public complaint had yet been received.
The events were run by a group called Entourage Bali, organized by two Dutch nationals identified by Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration only by their initials — JAS, 35, who held a limited stay permit for work, and HQV, 37, who held an investor stay permit.
Immigration Director General Hendarsam Marantoko said the two had already left Indonesia, departing Wednesday (7night on a KLM flight to Singapore from Ngurah Rai International Airport. Because they were no longer in the country, authorities placed them on an entry ban list preventing their return. The immigration office at Ngurah Rai has also summoned the pair's local sponsor, PT SIG, for questioning.
Hendarsam said immigration officers in Bali had been instructed to inspect other event organizers and detain any foreign nationals found illegally running events, stating that foreigners are not permitted to organize public events in Indonesia and may only serve as crew or official staff for events involving international performers.
The controversy also drew criticism from Josh Fothergill, a British social media personality known online as "joshberlari," who posted a video condemning the club's alleged exclusion of Indonesians. He said foreign-run running groups in Bali had for too long occupied public roads, caused traffic congestion and shown disrespect toward local communities, and that barring Indonesians from joining was unacceptable.
Ni Luh Djelantik, a member of Indonesia's Regional Representative Council from Bali, called on police and immigration officials to follow up on the discrimination allegations against Entourage Bali, saying via social media that some of the group's activities may also have lacked proper permits.
Entourage Bali issued an apology on Friday, saying it never intended to discriminate against or disrespect anyone. The group said its running events were generally open to all without registration, but that a recent "Silent Disco Run" required ticketing due to limited capacity, and that Indonesian participants made up the largest share of attendees at that event. The group acknowledged a flaw in an automated approval system for a WhatsApp group and related non-running activities, saying the system had introduced bias that mistakenly rejected some, though not all, users with Indonesian (+62) phone numbers.