Press demand councillor transparency

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