Thread: Check the access to your land and beware of passive/active ADAT

Unless you have a endless supply of money or the right connections it seems that this process can turn into a horror story. It only reinforces my belief that renting is the only way to go. Also I can move around Indonesia as I like and live where I like with my base on my husbands island and family home.

I have never heard of this before on this or any other forum and thank everyone who is posting regarding this. So please, keep posting as your experiences are valuable information for those to come after you.

They can come with amounts reaching 200 000 $

Yeah right.

I think I should share the explanations that I got from some people of a village about the ADAT:

-1/ Adat is passive/active , so the village make new laws when there is a new event.
Like: a foreigner want to build a house in the village, they make a new rule to regulate that (eventhough he has the IMB).
So the rules can change anytime, according to the situation (and their wishes/need of money). The new rules are also effective retroactively. Sure, why not, after all...
-2/ A team of several people can take a decision in the name of all the others and the others will automatically follow . If this is true, it means that a large group of Balinese could become, huh...let s say `unfriendly` when triggered by a few members of that village. (I don t say that this IS the reality, but that s what they want me to believe).
-3/You can t never compare the adat rules of two villages because each have their own rules. Let s say (real example) that some people of a village want to get money just because a foreigner is coming to their village. They might justify the thousands $ asked with a blur comparison with such and such who was charged 30.000$ in the next village . You would reply that dozens of your friends never had to pay such sully price and the next answer is: every village has different adat rules and
- 4/ In the name of the adat, the village also have the right to involve in businesses, road accesses , land transactions.
- 5/ And, best of all, the ADAT (which for them means what is explained above) is stronger than the law of the state. It s like a diplomatic magic power given to Balinese and no one has the right to discuss that. The funny thing is that this power has only been given to the uneducated Balinese. The educated ones don t seem to know about this supranatural suing power.

For the sake of the Balinese culture and the respect we have for it, would you please show this post to some educated Balinese and help me explain the uneducated ones that this above has absolutely nothing to do with the ADAT Bali ? They do need to understand the border between ADAT and Mafia. In reality, it s not a thin border but a complete different universe. I have a meeting with the whole village next sunday 11july and it would be very helpful to have high cast/influent , religious or political Balinese personalities with me to educate that village before their ignorance turn into unlawful actions. That village is in the province of Gianyar.

Liesna telling them to f***k off is the last thing you should do. I am still waiting for your phone call if you are seriously interested in resolving this problem. Please read my other post.

Know that if such experience comes to your life, the only way out is acceptance. Dedoo is right in his view of the story. It is a lack of trust, eventhough I did socialize as much as I could, some other personal experiences made theses people worried and I have to pay for the mistakes of others . Whatever i think is right or not won t change the situation, police, army, lawyers, no one can help other than me accepting, paying and living in peace.
Be good and take care.

Originally Posted by Liesna

You know what? I think I take this too seriously...
Even the kepala desa tells me that I should feel lucky they didn t decide to charge 30 000 $ but yeah...it doesn t make no sense, their example that such and such was charged 1.5 Billion rp is stupid but, under pressure, by fear for our security, we almost believed it. I m going to tell them to f***k off and see what happens. legally, since last year, I have the IMB, an authorisation of the Kelian adat, Dinas, and kepala desa, so, I ll just let the dogs bark and continue the construction. Eventhough , all of a sudden , they changed their mind.
They wanted me to sign a paper so that I promise to pay 600 000 rp for the pemopog/per 6 months (I m not even Hindhu) + 2.5% of the value of each construction + a few thousands $ here and there. and in return, my family is allowed to use the jalan swadaya .
The last sentence of that `agreement` says that if I miss a step, I even loose that right (none of them have a certificate for that road and it is a real asphalt road registered in the database of the BPN anyway)....
Nah, it doesn t make sense, I won t pay 6000$ + a promise of 600 000 rp/per 6 months and have nothing in return...
I m going to tell them to just go pray more often and wait til God send them an other pigeon.
I ll keep you inform of any other threat and mention names if it happens.

How are the things these days, Liesna? Did you manage to sort things out?
My regards to you!

Originally Posted by nikita7

How are the things these days, Liesna? Did you manage to sort things out?
My regards to you!

Hi all, it s been 7 months since I have paid the shameful $6000 in the name of the (inexisting) adat rule that the masyarakat (local citizens) decided after I had all legal documents and agreements signed by the state and the village. So I have my IMB (building permit since last year and my house is almost finished. An another drama today... I bought a land at the edge of a green zone (jalur Hijau) . As I see a big building being built in the middle of that green zone, I asked more details about where the green zone really starts....BIG MISTAKE. They checked me as if I was the problem and decided to let that building grow without any permit (sure, it belongs to a `local`). After all, I don t care, it was just to know where exactly the green zone starts. So, to thanks me of my question and care for the environment, the
BPPT office informed me that by a magic modification, half of my land is in the green zone and that they made a mistake when they delivered my IMB....
?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????
Did you know that there is a sentence in your IMB that says they can `modify` your permit if there is a mistake. So they told me they have the right to destroy my house. For those who don t know my story yet, I did buy a tanah pemukiman meaning that can be built on and re-measured the land by the BPN, checked the road access, crossed checked by the PEMDA and kantor PU then my building permit has been delivered by the BPPT the legal way. Sorry...human error, we can destroy your house now but because we have pity of you, we will change your IMB for a IMB bersyarat (valid only 5 years). Assuring me that I can renew it easily every 5 years....no fee to pay, only `sukarela` (corruption money).

So what ever happens to my house, it is just too much. There is no law here, no security for non Balinese, even if you have all the permits and checked carefully everything, the citizens and government can do whatever they wish. You are a foreigner means : you have no rights. Bali only accept only four-weeks-tourists, long terms visitors are parasites. Just rent a house if you want to stay longer, DO NOT BUY/LEASE LAND, DO NOT INVEST IN BALI. I thought I was smart and could avoid the horror stories but there is no law for you and no document, no contract are permanent. Trial? No hope. Also, if you are a tourist, know that if you have a car accident, you are faulty, whatever the situation, it will be your fault and you might be jailed until you pay enough to see the light of the day.