Badung (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan opened the 2023 Bhinneka Culture Festival at German Beach in Badung District, Bali, on Friday, by participating in a sea turtle-releasing activity. "We released the sea turtles. Hopefully, they will survive even though the percentage (of survival) is not high. Maybe, if we release a thousand turtles, only a few percent of them will survive," Minister Hasan stated.
With that in mind, the minister invited the public to release more numbers of sea turtle hatchlings into the sea in the hopes of increasing their population. Head of the Kuta Sea Turtle Conservation Center I Gusti Ngurah Tresna noted that the minister released 20 sea turtles.
"They (the sea turtles) just hatched yesterday. Thus, after they reach the water, they will learn. Every 10 seconds, they will come to the surface to breathe," he stated.
Tresna explained that one can assess the condition of the sea water by seeing whether the turtles resurfaced. Now, the sea water is still safe for tourism activities, he added. Apart from releasing sea turtles, at the festival, Minister Hasan also bought craft products made by local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The minister bought hats and bracelets for a total of Rp650 thousand (US$43) at a merchant booth before visiting another booth to buy five sheets of udeng, Balinese traditional headdress, for Rp500 thousand (US$33).
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A total of 10 booths of local MSMEs were present at the annual festival, so Minister Hasan continued to buy products at other booths. At the other booths, the minister bought four pieces of the island's iconic shorts for a total of Rp400 thousand (US$26.6), a casual-styled hat for Rp200 thousand (US$13), and four pieces of colorful, locally-made bracelets for Rp400 thousand.
This year marks the second edition of the Bhinneka Culture Festival after it was earlier held in Jakarta in 2022.
Trade Minister Hasan opens 2023 Bhinneka Culture Festival in Bali
Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan buying crafts made by local medium, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at Jerman Beach, Badung, Bali, Friday (June 23, 2023). ANTARA/Ni Putu Putri Muliantari
