Press demand councillor transparency

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Dozens of journalists in Makassar staged a protest on Wednesday in front of the city legislative council, demanding councillors to be more transparent.

After a brief protest, the journalists from various associations, including the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and Makassar Collective Forum for Journalists (Forbes), rushed into the office of council chairman Amin Syam.

In a dialog with Amin Syam, the journalists questioned why councillors often held closed-door meetings of late, especially ahead of the gubernatorial election early next year.

"The closed-door meetings have impeded the public's right to know and undermined transparency. Every meeting held by councillors should be open to public, including journalists," said M. Kiblat, one of the protesters.

In response to the journalists demand, Amin insisted that the councillors had the right to hold closed-door meeting according to the council's internal ruling. -- JP