BOGOR, West Java: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has slammed the Bali provincial government over the island’s worsening waste problem, warning that it could undermine the country’s tourism sector and damage its global reputation.
Prabowo said he had received complaints from some foreign dignitaries who recently visited Bali and were disappointed by its cleanliness.
“I was in (South) Korea meeting some ministers, generals … They told me, ‘Your Excellency, I just came from Bali, it’s so dirty now, it’s not nice,” the Indonesian president said on Monday (Feb 2), as he recounted the exchange.
“I take that as a criticism, this is something we must address together.”
Prabowo was speaking at the 2026 National Coordination Meeting of the Central and Regional Governments in Bogor, West Java.
Tourism is one of the “easiest” sectors to develop and has a large capacity to absorb labour but its potential is now being hindered by cleanliness issues, he said.
“Indonesia is beautiful. People want to come, but they see slums. They want to go to Bali but the beaches are dirty,” he said during the meeting, which was broadcast live on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ YouTube channel.
Prabowo then took a swipe at Bali Governor I Wayan Koster and regional leaders over beach conditions, which he described as filled with trash. The president further questioned why the problem has proven difficult to resolve, despite beaches being Bali’s main tourism asset.
“I am sorry, governor, regents from Bali … This is real, Bali in December 2025. How are our tourists supposed to come when they see trash?” he said, displaying photos of scattered trash in Bali.
In response to Prabowo’s comments, Bali governor Koster said that seasonal factors – such as ocean currents during the rainy season – are the main cause of the accumulation of waste on the island’s beaches.
He explained that from December to February, ocean currents tend to be strong, bringing waste from outside Bali to the main beaches, making immediate clean-up operations difficult due to the large volume and wide distribution of debris.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/bali-beaches-waste-indonesia-prabowo-subianto-5903311
