Dutch organisers of foreigner-only running club in Bali banned from Indonesia

Two Dutch nationals, identified by Indonesian authorities as being the organisers of a foreigner-only running club in Bali, have been banned from re-entering Indonesia.The two organisers of the Entourage Run club in Canggu are believed to have departed for Singapore from Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on the evening of July 23, reported state news agency Antara.“We are aware that both foreigners have left Indonesian territory, and we have decided to place them on a re-entry ban,” said Director-General of Immigration, Hendarsam Marantoko, as quoted by Antara.The run club received backlash from locals after it was revealed that it rejected Indonesians from participating.“There should not be a state within a state. We consider this running club to be functioning as a ‘state within a state’,” said Hendarsam.He identifed the organisers by their initials: JAS – a 35-year-old who holds a Limited Stay Permit (ITAS) for employment – and HQV, a 37-year-old investor and also an ITAS holder.Hendarsam added that the duo violated immigration laws by organising an event in Indonesia without the required permits.The running club came under scrutiny after a social media post in July claimed that the club restricted participation to only foreigners. According to the post, an Indonesian woman and her German boyfriend both applied to join the club. The woman was rejected, while her boyfriend was accepted.Following the uproar, Entourage Bali released a statement on July 24 stating that the community was created for digital nomads, including Indonesians, to connect. Digital nomads are people who work remotely via the Internet without being tied to a single location.Entourage Bali added that the rejection of Indonesians was caused by an error in the club’s automated approval process.“We have made errors in the automated approval process for our WhatsApp groups and non-running events. While we were trying to create a place where digital nomads could meet, a bias was created that some (and not all) +62 numbers/ Indonesians were incorrectly rejected,” read the statement. The code +62 is the international country calling code for Indonesia.“We are pausing all our events and activities for now. We take full accountability for what has happened and promise we will make real changes going forward.”Indonesian media outlet Tempo reported that Bali’s Immigration Office has been instructed to summon relevant parties, such as the sponsors supporting the club’s recent Silent Disco Run event, as part of an investigation into the club.The office is also summoning the corporate sponsors and guarantors of the two Dutch nationals, identified only as PT SIG, to examine the Dutch nationals’ activities while in Indonesia, including their compliance with stay permit conditions.Rhea Yasmine is a journalist at The Straits Times. She covers local and international issues, with an interest in South-east Asia.