Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – A decision made by Lampung Governor Sjachroedin Z.P. to send journalists on an overseas tour has been slammed by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and a coalition of non-governmental organizations.
Forty Lampung journalists are scheduled to leave on an all-expenses-paid umrah – smaller version of the haj pilgrimage to Mecca – and a tour of Malaysia and Singapore next month.
AJI representatives in Bandarlampung said the move will compromise the integrity of journalists.
The coalition of NGOs, which make up the Network of Community Awareness on Regional Autonomy and Transparency, said the trip was a waste of funds from the provincial budget and should be viewed as nothing more than a strategy by the governor to win next year's election.
"We disagree with the free trip for journalists as we believe it will influence their efforts to spearhead democracy. We want the Lampung provincial administration to immediately cancel this plan that will compromise the integrity of journalists," AJI Bandarlampung chief Juwendra Asdiansyah said Wednesday.
He said the Rp 1 billion required to fund the trip would be better used improving the welfare of journalists.
"It must be remembered that Lampung is the second poorest province in Sumatra after Aceh. Aceh is poor because it was devastated by the tsunami, but Lampung is poor due to budget mismanagement," Juwendra said.
Initially three AJI members were included on the list of tour participants. All three have since rejected the offer.
"By having their names included on the list of participants, it will harm their media image and the image of journalists as a whole. The administration should inform the public that the inclusion of their names on the list was a mistake," Juwendra said.
The Head of AJI Bandarlampung's council of ethics, Budi Santoso Budiman, said the tour was nothing more than a bribe and was a violation of journalistic ethics.
"All over the world, journalists should be independent. Such a program threatens their independence and democracy as a whole," Budi said.
The coordinator of the trip, Syafnijal Datuk Sinaro, denied the trip would compromise the integrity of journalists. Rather, the trip was organized so that journalists could conduct a comparative study on Lampung and Putrajaya in Malaysia, he said.
"Putrajaya is replacing Kuala Lumpur as Malaysia's administrative center. There are plans for Lampung to become such a city, so it is necessary for journalists from Lampung to witness Putrajaya's success first hand," Syafnijal said.
A spokesman for the Lampung administration, Rusli Rasyid, said the trip was intended to help boost the knowledge of journalists.
"Many journalists have never had the opportunity to travel abroad. Through this program, we hope to help broaden their knowledge," he said.
An activist from the coalition of NGOs, Jauhari Zailani, who is also a political observer from Bandarlampung University, said the trip was a move by the administration to generate support for the governor before next year's election.
"It is clear to see. In an earlier statement, the governor said he would invite journalists who had been supportive to take a tour abroad with his personal money. Later, however, it was revealed the funds for the trip were to be taken out of the provincial budget," Jauhari said.