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Abbreviations & Key Terms

This list is a work in progress. If you’d like to suggest abbreviations and key terms that will help readers navigate Indonesian news, please let us know at TheBaliBeat@outlanders.global.

 

As is the case everywhere, Indonesian media operates within its own culture, which is full of its own symbols, patterns of speech, and journalistic norms. Abbreviations, acronyms, and turns of phrase that are innately understood by Indonesians may not be immediately clear to foreigners who do not have at least a passing command of the language. To help readers navigate and familiarize themselves with some of the more common terms that pop up in news items carried in The Bali Beat, we’ve gathered them up alongside translations and some explanations.

Common Abbreviations

Nataru = “Natal dan Tahun Baru” = Christmas and New Year

PKB = “Pesta Kesenian Bali” = Bali Cultural Festival

PMI = “Pekerja Migran Indonesia” = Indonesian Migrant Worker

PPKM = ”Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat” = Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities

PPKM Mikro = ”Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat Mikro” = Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities at the Micro/Village Level

Prokes = “Protokol Kesehatan” = Health Protocol

 

Key terms
Levels of government

  • Central Government = “Pemerintah Pusat” or “Pempus”. Also appears as simply “government” in translations. This level is lead by the president = “presiden” and vice president = “wakil presiden” or “wapres”.

  • Provincial Government = “Pemerintah Provinsi” or “Pemprov”. This level is lead by the governor = “gubernur” and vice governor = “wakil gubernur” or “wagub”.

  • Regency Government = “Pemerintah Kabupaten” or “Pemkab”. This level is lead by the regent = “bupati”. Bali’s eight regencies are Badung, Bangli, Buleleng, Gianyar, Jembrana, Karangasem, Klungkung, and Tabanan.

    • Within Badung lies Bali’s capital, Denpasar City, which has its own municipal/city government = “Pemkot”. This level is lead by the mayor = “wali kota” and vice mayor “wakil wali kota”

  • District = “Kecamatan”. This level is lead by the sub-district head = “camat”. Within its eight regencies and once municipality, Bali has 57 districts.  

  • Village = “Desa”. This level is lead by the village head = “kepala desa”. Bali has 636 villages.

  • Sub-district = “Kelurahan”. This level is on the same administrative level as a villages but with some structural differences. It is lead by the sub-district head = “lurah”. Bali has 80 sub-districts.

  • Customary Village = “Desa Adat”. Customary villages differ to villages in that their powers and regulations are purely related to customs and traditions (“adat”). This level is lead by the customary village head = “bendesa adat”. Bali has 1,493 customary villages.

  • Neighborhood* = “Banjar”. This level is lead by the neighborhood head = “kelian”. There are two types; “banjar dinas” and “banjar adat”. The former is responsible for administration purposes, the latter for customary purposes. Bali has 4,678 banjar adat, and 3,853 banjar dinas.

 

*This is a rough translation; ”hamlet” is another. A more accurate (but less succinct) translation is “community organization territory.”

 

Government Ministries & Agencies

The below ministries are those most regularly featured in the newsletter. For a full list of government ministries click here.

 

  • Ministry of Defense = “Kementerian Pertahanan Republik Indonesia” or “Kemhan”

  • Ministry of Education and Culture = “Kementerian Pendidikan and Budaya” or “Kemdikbud”

  • Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources = “Kemeterian ESDM”

  • Ministry of Finance =”Kementerian Keuangan” or “Kemenkeu”

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs = “Kementerian Luar Repbulik Indonesia“ or “Kemenlu” or “Kemlu”

  • Ministry of Health = “Kementerian Kesehatan” or “Kemenkes”

    • Ministry of Health Research and Development Agency = “Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Kesehatan” = “Balitbangkes”

  • Ministry of Home Affairs = “Kementerian Dalam Negeri Republik Indonesia” or “Kemendagri”

  • Ministry of Law and Human Rights = “Kementerian Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia” or “Kemenkumham”

  • Ministry of Environment and Forestry = “Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan” or “Kemenlinghut”

  • Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries  = “Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan” or “KKP”

  • Ministry of Religion = “Kementerian Agama” or “Kemenag”

  • Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy = “Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif” or “Kemenparekraf”

  • Ministry of Transportation = “Kementerian Perhubungun” or “Kemhub”

  • Indonesian National Armed Forces = “Tentara Nasional Indonesia” or “TNI”

  • Indonesian National Police = “Kepolisian Republic Indonesia” or “POLRI”.

 

Provincial Departments

  • Provincial Police = “Kepolisian Daerah” or “POLDA”

  • Provincial Education, Youth and Sports Office = “Dinas Pendidikan, Kepemudaan dan Olahraga” or “Disdikpora”

  • Provincial Health Office = “Dinas Kesehatan” or “Diskes”

  • Provincial Tourism Office = “Dinas Pariwisata Daerah” or “Disparda”

 

Bali Tourism Associations and Provincial Offices

  • Bali Tourism Board = “BTB”

  • Bali Hotels Association = “BHA”

  • Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association Bali Office = “Perhimpunan Hotel & Restoran Indonesia Bali” = “PHRI Bali”

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