Indonesia bans Dutch organisers of Bali expat run club over exclusion claims

Indonesia’s immigration chief has barred two Dutch nationals who ran the popular “Entourage” running club from returning to the archipelago, a move that caps a week‑long controversy sparked by accusations that the group excluded Indonesian members.

The ban follows a viral post by Bandung‑based university lecturer Annisa Rahmadani, who said she was turned away from an early‑morning run while her British husband was accepted. Her story ignited a wave of online complaints, prompting politicians, immigration officials and the Bali tourism office to intervene.

Media additions

How the dispute unfolded

• May: Entourage held a “silent‑disco” run, posting photos of a crowd jogging with headphones.
• July: Rahmadani attempted to join a scheduled run; her application was rejected, her husband’s accepted.
• Late July: Screenshots of rejected applications spread on social media, with dozens of Indonesians reporting similar experiences.
• Early August: Entourage issued a statement denying deliberate discrimination, citing an automated approval system that mistakenly blocked some Indonesian phone numbers.

The club’s own response stressed that its events were “open for everyone, including non‑digital nomads” and that Indonesians made up almost a quarter of participants. It said the registration glitch had prompted a pause while processes were reviewed.

"I had no idea it would get that big,"

Annisa Rahmadani, university lecturer, via The Guardian

Rahmadani added that her frustration was not with foreigners in general but with “those who abuse the system and who take it for granted.” Her British husband, still eager to visit Bali, was not part of the ban.

Immigration director‑general Hendarsam Marantoko described the club as a “state within a state” and warned that similar organisations could face the same fate if they failed to obtain permits. The Bali tourism office, reacting to the uproar, announced that all organised running events would now require official permits.

"The patience of the locals had been tested for too long,"

Niluh Djelantik, Bali regional parliamentarian, via AOL

Djelantik, a regional parliamentarian, echoed the sentiment that locals felt increasingly like outsiders in their own island. She invoked the proverb “Seperti api dalam sekam” – “like a fire under the dry rice husk” – to illustrate the simmering tension.

Bali governor Wayan Koster offered a more measured view, saying he did not see the controversy as evidence that foreigners were deliberately creating exclusionary enclaves. He argued that “running clubs, … remained welcome provided they complied with regulations.”

Broader context: tourism, digital nomads and local resentment

Since the pandemic, Bali has become a magnet for remote workers drawn by its climate, surf and comparatively low cost of living.

The surge has delivered jobs and higher incomes, yet it has also strained infrastructure, driven up housing costs and amplified cultural frictions.

"Some foreigners come here arrogantly and have a mindset that it’s not their country, that they can just do whatever they want,"

Hamish Newton‑Vesty, content creator, via The Guardian

Newton‑Vesty, a New Zealand YouTuber who records his Bali life under the nickname “Bule Hamiss”, said the run‑club dispute prompted his Indonesian friends to share similar stories of exclusion.

Social‑justice advocate Piter Panjaitan linked the Entourage saga to a broader pattern of perceived rule‑breaking by foreigners. He noted that in the first half of the current year, Indonesian authorities had deported 342 foreigners for visa violations, illegal work and public indecency. He argued that “the laws are there, we just need to get better at enforcing them.”