Bali's Beach Boys Reject Gigolo Slur

KUTA, KOMPAS.com — Fun-loving local beach boys are as much a fixture and, for some women, an attraction of Bali as the sun and surf, but all that could be about to change thanks to a controversial new film.

The documentary, "Cowboys in Paradise" by Singapore-based writer and director Amit Virmani, sparked panic among Bali's tourism officials when it was released at a film festival in South Korea earlier this month.

Its candid interviews with the local men who flirt with and seduce foreign tourists has severely tarnished the resort island's image, officials say.

"Certainly it's worrying. We'll take action so the image of Bali as a spiritual island isn't tainted," Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika told reporters.

Police have rounded up almost 30 of the so-called beach "cowboys" in a bid to "clean up the beach of prostitution", Bali police spokesman Gede Sugianyar said.

Some of the men at the centre of the brouhaha said they were distressed and angry at being hounded as gigolos, and flatly denied offering sexual favours for money.

"I'm stressed by the raids. I wonder if the authorities are coming after me next," 29-year-old surf instructor Rosnan Efendi told AFP.

"I'm also angry the filmmaker twisted the story. We were told it was a documentary about love and relationships between locals and foreigners," he added.

Well-built, tanned and sporting shoulder-length wavy hair, Efendi said he met his German girlfriend on the beach four years ago and fell in love.

"We're together because of love, not money. When we go out, we split the bills. She doesn't pay for me," he said.