Bali Millis Preview and Information: Re: [bali-bali] St. Regis Slammed Over Butlers’ Western Names

Kamis, 04 Februari 2010

Re: [bali-bali] St. Regis Slammed Over Butlers’ Western Names

Agree totally Diana! Unfortunately there seems to be no end in sight,
at least before all the rice fields are sold up...and bali is official
plastered with concrete and plastic (bags).

what we need is more local protest as well as more editorials, letters
and articles in indonesian and balinese language tabloids.
with only english, we are only reaching a small group of the local
reading public.

anyone eager to write?

vaughan
www.balimusic.org

On 2/4/10, Diana Darling <dianadarling@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hilarious and sickening at once. Shame on the tourists who think this is
> cute. Shame on the management for even thinking of asking Balinese to
> pretend to be Englishmen. This is a good example of the irreality that
> luxury tourism generates and feeds on.
>
> Fortunately there are other, less hallucinatory models of tourism to chose
> from. Bali should dare to be more discriminating in the tourism that
> develops here. But the process is so complicated, and the appetite for fast
> money so rampant, that it's hard to know how to respond or where to begin.
>
> Best wishes, nonetheless
> Diana
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 9:31 PM, Putu Kesuma <putukesuma@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Teman-teman semua,
>>
>> Adakah yang masih tersisa ketika hal ini kita biarkan? Bagi saya ini sudah
>> keterlaluan! Mohon masukan teman-teman tindakan apa yang seharusnya kita
>> lakukan?
>>
>> Salam,
>> Putu
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Putu Kesuma <putukesuma@yahoo.com>
>>
>> *To:* Bali-Bali <bali-bali@yahoogroups.com>
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 2, 2010 19:38:48
>> *Subject:* [bali-bali] St. Regis Slammed Over Butlers' Western Names
>>
>>
>>
>> St. Regis Slammed Over Butlers' Western Names
>> January 29, 2010
>>
>> *By I Gusti Made Putra*
>>
>> DENPASAR ~ A luxury hotel in the tourist enclave of Nusa Dua urging its
>> Balinese butlers to adopt Western names so that their well-heeled guests
>> will feel more at home has enraged one of the country's top spiritual
>> leaders.
>>
>>
>> The St. Regis Resort and Spa, which opened to fanfare in March 2009,
>> requests that its team of butlers uses names that are plucked from British
>> literature, such as Edgar, in an apparent strategy to confer on the
>> service
>> staff an inference of the traditional British servant.
>>
>>
>> Anand Krishna, who runs spiritual centres and workshops in Bali and writes
>> a weekly column in this newspaper, said he was outraged that the butlers
>> were told to use Western names.
>>
>> "I think the management of St. Regis is totally ignorant of the very
>> purpose of tourism," he told The Bali Times on Thursday.
>>
>>
>> "It is not only saddening but disheartening that a hotel of their repute
>> could make such a blunder. A totally wrong understanding of the concept of
>> tourism," he said.
>>
>> **
>>
>> *What's in a Name:* The entrance to the plush St. Regis at
>> Nusa Dua where butlers provided for high-paying guests
>> take Western names to help the wealthy cope with Bali.
>>
>> The marketing and communications director at the St. Regis, Geetha
>> Warrier,
>> confirmed that the resort, located along the white-sand Geger Beach,
>> employed butlers among its 30-strong, mostly Balinese team who used
>> Western
>> names.
>>
>>
>> "They are given a stage name derived from the most famous butlers in the
>> world. It is a gimmick, a talking point, which is received very positively
>> by the team and guests alike," she told The Bali Times.
>>
>> "These English names are chosen by the butlers themselves and are not
>> forced upon them. We have butlers who use their own names."
>>
>>
>> However, some of the butlers at the St. Regis, who cater to guests who
>> shell out up to US$5,500 per night, according to rates on the hotel's
>> website, have reportedly said they are uncomfortable using an adopted
>> Western name and would rather use their own.
>>
>> Krishna said foreign tourists should be open to the experience of enjoying
>> the delights of a different country.
>>
>>
>> "The original idea of tourism was to visit new places, and learn new
>> things. A Peter coming to Bali must get to know Putu here, and taste some
>> pasar (market) delicacies," he said.
>>
>> "When I visit my daughter in Spain, I do not look for Indonesian satay or
>> Indian curry there. I prefer tapas and Sangria. I do not want nasi goreng
>> in
>> Los Angeles; I would rather have bacon and sausages for my breakfast. I
>> eat
>> fish and chips in London; I would not look for ikan bakar. I go all the
>> way
>> to Raffles in Spore to have a Singapore Sling."
>>
>>
>> The spiritual guru, who has worked with the Dalai Lama, called for action
>> against the St. Regis.
>>
>> "I suggest that Bali Tourism Board and other government institutions
>> reprimand the management of St. Regis, and ensure that this situation is
>> changed immediately," he said.
>>
>> Meanwhile, Desiderius Rian Karismaputra of the National Commission on
>> Human
>> Rights (Komnas HAM) in Jakarta told The Bali Times that the top-end
>> hotel's
>> policy violated the intrinsic rights of their employees.
>>
>> "Under the law, Indonesians have the right to use their own name, and
>> cannot be forced to change it to something else," he said.
>>
>>
>> "According to the Law on Antidiscrimination of Race and Ethnicity, Article
>> 4, there is a term of one year in jail or a fine of Rp100,000 (US$10,600)
>> for violations," he said.
>>
>>
>> The St. Regis joins a growing number of high-end hotels in Bali. Part of
>> the US-based Starwood group, its sister properties in Bali include the
>> Westin, Le Méridien and Laguna, while a W hotel is under construction.
>>
>> Suarno of conflict-resolution section of the Department of Manpower in
>> Badung regency, where most of the island's tourism is located, said,
>> however, that if there was an agreement between the hotel and its
>> employees
>> that was approved by the All Indonesia Workers Union (KSPSI), there would
>> be
>> no problem.
>>
>> "But if the company is not a member of the KSPSI, the workers of the hotel
>> can complain directly to the management of the hotel, that they don't like
>> using a Western name," Suarno told The Bali Times.
>>
>> The St. Regis said that because it was a new hotel, its employees were not
>> yet members of the KSPSI.
>>
>>
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