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Governor Urging Bali to Buy Famous GWK Cultural Park
Made Arya Kencana | July 11, 2010

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Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika wants the provincial government to buy the Garuda Wisnu Kencana, a privately built cultural park that has become one of the resort island’s most renowned art venues.

“If our people want it, the GWK could become the property of the Bali government,” Pastika said from Denpasar on Saturday evening.

The park features a 146-meter-tall statue of the Hindu god Vishnu and a statue of the mythical garuda. It was originally built to educate people about the importance of preserving and cultivating the world’s cultural heritage. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently declared the site a world culture forum.

Pastika said that if the park, which is still under construction, was finished correctly the benefits could be huge for the province. “It would be much better if the government owned the GWK, because profits from events there would go toward Bali’s regional income.”

The governor is no stranger to preserving works of art. He recently bought the “Tiga Mojang” (“Three Girls”) statue in Bekasi. The art work was erected in a private residential complex in Bekasi, but the local government pulled it down after hard-line Muslims complained it was pornographic and did not represent local values. Pastika is having the sculpture shipped to Bali.

Pastika formerly led the foundation that owns and manages the GWK, but had to leave the post when he was elected governor. The park project started in 1994, but so far only 23 meters of the main statue of Vishnu have been completed. The delays are mainly due to funding shortages, with 82 percent of investment coming from the private Nuartha Foundation and the rest from the Bali Tourism Development Corporation.

Pastika said he was worried that the foundation’s financial difficulties could lead to the park being sold to a foreign investor.

Made Arjaya, of the provincial legislative council, said the time was not right for the Bali government to purchase the GWK.

“If they do not buy it now, the government will still be able to fund some regional developments. They would do better to focus on overcoming poverty first,” he said.