Detlef, since 1966 I have entered Indonesia through Ngurah Rai airport in Den Pasar, more than 100 times, and I have entered Indonesia through Jakarta perhaps 10 times.
In 2018 I entered Indonesia through Ngurah Rai, I had with me about 20 or 30 keris and other antique edged weapons that I was bringing into Indonesia for restoration.
On my Customs declaration form I declared these keris & other items:- it is required to declare all sharp & or pointed objects, in certain circumstances this declaration can be interpreted as a requirement to declare such things as scissors or pocket knives, even the mini Swiss army knife that is about 2" long.
You must declare, if you do not, your undeclared item can be seized even though it is perfectly legal to own & carry in Indonesia.
OK. In 2018 I declared what I was carrying. I am 80+ years old, I dress as a businessman who is about to attend an important meeting, I speak Bahasa Indonesia fluently and I understand the correct way to behave.
The Customs officers who handled my declaration took me & my luggage into a private office and conducted a cross examination that lasted for around 2 hours. Central to the examination was the fact that I did not have Indonesian/Balinese police clearance to bring weapons into Bali.
However, I did have a NSW police document that permitted me bring edged weapons back into Australia, permitted the Customs officers to look at this document, but I did not permit them to handle it or copy it.
Eventually I was permitted to leave the airport and enter Indonesia.
I have also exited Indonesia on many occasions, sometimes carrying very large numbers of keris & other weapons. On most occasions I have not encountered anything but a cursory examination of what I have had with me, but sometimes the examination has been quite probing in respect of age and/or cultural importance of one or another item carried, on these occasions I have handled the matter in the traditional Indonesian manner.
On two occasions I have been detained & handed over to a highly ranked duty officer who has started our interview by insisting that I return to Jakarta and obtain the relevant export clearance documents. Again, these meetings have been settled in the traditional manner.
Indonesian Customs & other officials must not ever be taken lightly, to do so is to risk making your visit to Indonesia very much longer than you intended it to be, and/or very much more expensive.
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