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SPBU Operator Protesting Koster: ‘I Am Not a Robot’

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 16, 2026•3 min read

A female operator gas station (SPBU) 54.801.48 in Denpasar viral after crying and protesting Governor Bali Wayan Koster who asked SPBU to operate 24 hours in the midst of the fuel (BBM) crisis.

Key Facts

The moment occurred when the Governor of Bali Wayan Koster inspected SPBU 54.801.48 in Jalan Diponegoro, Denpasar, on Wednesday (14/10/2026) night.
A female operator cried and cried out to protest for requesting the extension of SPBU operations to 24 hours.
The emotional video of the operator is viral on social media.
The Pertalite type BBM railroad has hit Bali since the beginning of the week, triggered by bad weather and a delay of the BBM carrier ship's shuttle at the depot.
Admin SPBU Tria said all 12 operators in the SPBU were women, and one of them was still breastfeeding; normal hours 06.00-23.00 WITA with two shifts.
First Patra Niaga understood the workload and doubled Kodam IX/Udayana for Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) personnel assistance as an additional operator; Polresta Denpasar dispatched 588 staff.

SPBU Operator Crying in Front of Governor of Bali

The emotional moment colored the inspection of the Governor of Bali Wayan Koster at SPBU 54.801.48 Jalan Diponegoro, Denpasar, on Wednesday (14/10/2026) night. A female operator laid out disappointment to cry when asked to extend SPBU operations to 24 hours in order to reduce the length of the vehicle that surrounds Dewata Island.

“I’m not a robot, I’m tired too, Sir! Yes, I’m an officer, but I have a right too!” said the female operator while calming her colleagues at the scene.

In the circulating recording, the operator appeared to approach Koster and delivered his complaint with a loud voice to cry.

The Antrean BBM Bali Crisis

The incident occurred amid the phenomenon of shortages and long-running Pertalite type BBM that hit Bali since the beginning of the week. The shortages were triggered by bad weather barriers as well as the delay of the BBM supply carrier ship to rely on the facilities of the depot, which then sparked panic in the citizens to the outbreak of more than one kilometer in Denpasar, Badung, and other regions.

In the city of Denpasar, two-wheeled vehicles were monitored for up to four kilometers, while four-wheeled vehicles reached about three-and-a-half kilometers. This condition has entered the fifth day, and a number of drivers are even willing to enter from night to morning to get fuel. In Northern Sulawesi, a similar crisis struck Manado with a drive up to one kilometers and retail BBM prices climbed to Rp45 thousand per bottle.

Searches for "BBM price" jumped more than 600 percent on Google Trends Indonesia in the last hour, Friday night, marking the crisis as a national highlight.

24 Hour Operator Instructions

In order to mitigate the density of people hunting for fuel, the local government jointly instructed a particular SPBU to operate fully for 24 hours.

Admin SPBU 54.801.48, Tria, explained the workers were surprised when suddenly asked to prepare for 24 hours.

Tria noted that the normal operations of the SPBU only lasted from 06.00 to 23.00 WITA with a two-shift scheme filled with a total of 12 employees.

Open your voice and ask for help.

PT Pertamina Patra Niaga finally opened a voice in response to the viral video. Area Manager Communication Relations & CSR PT Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Jatimbonus, Ahad Rahedi, stated that he understood the increase in the workload of SPBU officers along with the strengthening of operations and the extension of service hours.

"The first continued to coordinate with the SPBU manager to ensure the arrangement of working hours, shift system, and rest time according to the provisions," said A Sunday, Thursday (15/10/2026).

Not only is it necessary to rearrange the schedule of the work, but the First Committee has also applied to the Code IX/Udayana to request the support of active TNI personnel as an additional SPBU operator. The involvement of TNI soldiers is expected to reduce the exhaustion of officers while ensuring the smoothness of public service. In the meantime, in order to prevent chaos, Polresta Denpasar has deployed as many as 588 personnel to secure dozens of SPBU and regulate the flow of traffic around it.