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roadcast journalism watchdog the Independent Coalition for Broadcasting Democratization (KIDP) has criticized the lack of transparency in the screening and selection process of candidates for membership of West Java'€™s broadcast commission.

The selection process for potential members of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Broadcast Commission for the 2015-2018 period has entered the final stage. Fourteen of 67 candidates who qualified in the initial selection will undergo screening by Commission I of the West Java legislative council on Dec. 29 and 30.

KIDP coordinator Eko Maryadi has raised doubts over the screening and selection process, saying that it has been kept from public scrutiny and has involved little participation by members of the public.

Eko cited Law No. 32/2002 on broadcasting, which stipulates that national commission members are to be selected by the House of Representatives and provincial commission members are picked by provincial councils through public screening and selection.

'€œThe council should have made the process available to the public through all media: print, online, television, radio and photography. If the process is not publicized, then there'€™s something being hidden,'€ said Eko by phone on Tuesday.

According to Eko, the screening process through the council members was probably influenced by political interests. '€œThe council members might have already been influenced by their faction heads or political parties to choose the names they like. This practice should be avoided because it harms the independent institution, whose work is on behalf of the public,'€ said Eko.

The KIDP comprises various institutions, including the Alliance for Independent Journalists (AJI), the Indonesian Community Radio Network, Remote TV, the Press and Development Study Institute, the Legal Aid Institute for the Press and the Indonesian Radio Journalists Alliance, as well as observers and media experts.

The coalition demand that the selection process for broadcast commissioners involve the public.

Catering to a province with a population of 45 million and home to many broadcast institutions, it would not be adequate if the West Java broadcast commissioners were only familiar with broadcasting issues and guidelines, Eko said.

'€œMore importantly, they must also be independent and side with the public interest,'€ he said.

West Java legislative council Commission I head Syahrir claimed the process had been held in accordance with regulations where each participant was given an hour to express their mission and vision as well as answer questions from 16 commission members.

The commission will pick seven candidates as West Java broadcast commissioners. '€œThe test is open to reporters but they are not allowed into the room. They can follow the process from outside on CCTV but we will not turn on the sound,'€ said Syahrir at the West Java council building in Bandung on Monday.

The West Java council also claimed to have given the public a chance to study the 14 commissioner candidates. Anyone who had information on the integrity and track record of the candidates could write to Commission I, Syahrir said, adding that the window for such reporting would be open until Friday.

The screening and selection process for the candidate commissioners has been ongoing since October. The cost of the process to select the 14 candidates has reportedly reached Rp 350 million (about US$29,000) and is derived from the 2014 provincial budget.