CANGGUWEEKLY
TheWeeklyNewsMagazineForCanggu&Surroundings
customizedYamahaScorpio motorbikethatwasparked outsideautomotiveandlifestyle storeDeusExMachinain Canggu.
Thestoremanagementalso saidGTAWdinedanddashed fromthestore.
TheNorthKutaPolicesaidthey locatedGTAWatDesa Tibubenengandarrestedhim aroundeighthoursafterthe theft.Themotorbikewas recovered.
Kurniawandarisaid,addingthat CCTVfootageshowedthree mendroppingoffGTAWatthe DeusExMachinastorebefore hecarriedoutthetheft.
Itdoesn’tseemlikeGTAW plannedthetheft,aspolicesaid hecameacrossthemotorbike withitskeyleftintheignition whenitwasparkedoutsidethe store.
ABriton’sattempttorevaway withaprizedcustommotorbike cametoascreechinghaltin Canggu.
Thesuspect,identifedas43year-oldGTAWfromEngland, wascaughtonCCTVcameraon Mondayafternoonhoppingona
“Rightnow,thereisjustone suspect[forthetheft],”North KutaPoliceChief CommissionerPutuDiah
Policehavenotannounced criminalchargesagainstGTAW asofthisarticle’spublication. UnderIndonesianlaw,theftis punishablebyuptofveyearsin prison. (Coconuts.co)
Amongthemanyridiculous luxurypropertiesbeingoffered attheSotheby’sConcierge AuctionstakingplaceinNew YorkfromDec.8-14isthe uniqueopportunitytopurchase thedevelopmentrightstothe islandsoftheWidiReserve, whichislocatednortheastof BaliintheheartoftheCoral Triangle.
“Everybillionairecanowna privateisland,butonlyonecan ownthisexclusiveopportunity spreadacross100+islands,” saidSotheby’sVPCharlieSmith inapressreleaseaboutthe auction.
AsSotheby’sdescribesiton theirwebsite,“…theWidi Reserveisacoralatoll archipelagoboasting100-plus uninhabited,pristinetropical islandsfringedby150 kilometersofpowderwhitesand beaches,thrivingcoralreefs, andprivate,deep-sea,nutrientrichwaters.”
Itgoesontosay:“Separatednot onlybyspaceandtime,butby extraordinarynaturalbeautyand totalprivacy,itisoneofthe mostbreathtakingproperties anywhereonEarth.”
Tobeclear,Sotheby’sis auctioningoffdevelopment rightstotheisland,not ownershiprights,asIndonesian lawdoesnotpermitprivate ownershipofislands.
Sotheby’salsonotesinits descriptionthattheWidi Reserve“…isoneofthemost intactcoralatollecosystemsleft onearthandananimalkingdom ofepicproportions,hometo hundredsofrareand endangeredspeciesincluding BlueWhales,WhaleSharks, 600documentedspeciesof marinemammals,fsh,birds, insectsandlizards,andspecies yettobediscovered.”
Naturally,someIndonesiansare concernedaboutthepotential
impactdevelopingtheislands wouldhaveontheenvironment andtheeconomiesoflocal communitieswhofshinthe area.
Initsmaterials,Sotheby’s emphasizesthatdevelopments withinthereservewouldhaveto beeco-friendly,withlimitsonthe numberofresidentialunitsthat canbebuiltonlyoncertain islands.Italsoclaims“thelocal community,basedonthe mainland,willbeneft signifcantlyfromskillstraining andawiderangeofemployment opportunities.Somewillbecome rangersandjoinatop internationalteamof conservationexpertsinhelping toprotectthisincredibleoceanic habitat.”
Therehasbeensignifcant controversyinIndonesiaover thelegalityofthesale.
ThegovernmentofNorth Maluku’sSouthHalmahera
Regency,whichistheclosest administrativeregiontotheWidi islands,saidlastweekthatit hadnotbeeninformedofthe salebeforenewsoftheauction wasmadepublic.Theregency’s secretary,SaifulTuruy,told Kompasthattheywouldaskthat thepermitgiventoPT LeadershipIslandsIndonesia (LII),thecompanythatholdsthe caretakerrightstoWidiandis workingwithSotheby’sonthe sale,berevoked.
Saifulsaidthiswasbecause,in thesevenyearssinceLIIwas grantedmanagementrightsover theisland,theyhadnotdone anythingtodevelopthemand hadsimplyobtainedtherightsto actasabrokerforforeign investors.
OnSaturday,Ministerof TourismandCreativeEconomy SandiagaUnorespondedtothe controversybysayingtheWidi Islandswerenotforsalebut notedthatauctioningoffits developmentrightswasnot necessarilyaviolationofthelaw ifitwasdoneaccordingto regulationsandbeneftted Indonesians.Hesaidifthere wereanyviolations,the governmentwouldcancelthe sale.
Ifyou’recrazyrichanddon’t careaboutthecontroversy,you canheadtoSotheby’swebsite toregisterfortheauction.But you’llneedtoplacea US$100,000depositjustto makeabid.
It’sprobablygoingtobeacrawl (punfullyintended),butoffcial plansareinplaceforthe constructionofashortcutto easethemaddeningmacet (traffcjams)inCanggu.
TheBadungRegency Administrationsaysitwillbuilda road,measuring400metersin lengthand10metersinwidth, asashortcutinthetourist hotspot.
Thisroad,however,isnottobe confusedwiththeinfamous CangguShortcut—thenarrow, curb-lesspathweavingthrough ricepaddiesconnectingJalan PantaiBerawaandJalanPantai BatuBolongthatcancuttravel timebyaround30minutes comparedtodrivingviaJalan RayaCanggu.
Theadministration’splanned shortcutwillbelocatedabout1 kilometernorth-eastofthe
CangguShortcut—itselfa routenotoriousfortraffcjams. Specifcally,itwillstartatthe intersectionwhereJalanRaya Canggu,JalanRayaPadonan, andJalanPantaiBerawameet (asillustratedinthemapbelow) andendsontheportionofJalan RayaCangguthatconnectswith JalanBypassTanahLot.
Theadministrationsaysa feasibilitystudyhasbeen conductedfortheshortcutand
landprocurementwill commencein2023.Noestimate wasgivenfortheroad’s completion.
Theshortcutispartofan IDR84.6billion(US$5.38million) projecttorevampandbeautify strategicroadsinBadung Regency.
