Overview
- Reports said Entourage Bali’s automated WhatsApp sign-up rejected Indonesian phone numbers while accepting foreign numbers ahead of a planned run on July 22, prompting social-media complaints from affected Indonesians.
- The two Dutch organisers left for Singapore on July 23 and were declared permanently “undesirable” by the Directorate General of Immigration, which has banned them from returning to Bali.
- Immigration authorities have opened investigations into whether the organisers and their commercial sponsor held the correct visas and permits for running public events.
- Entourage Bali issued an apology, said technical errors partly caused rejections, and suspended activities while several other local running groups also paused events.
- The case has provoked online nationalist backlash and fits into broader policy moves, including May visa tightening, as authorities step up checks on overstays, illegal work and cultural disrespect that affect local communities.