In a written statement issued on Monday, Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) supervisory board chairman Ilham Bintang clarified that the image merely showed a list of journalists who were invited to cover Susi’s official visit to a number of countries, and that in no instances did reprehensible practices take place.

“There’s an irresponsible party who framed the list as something that it is not. It’s [framed] as if the [accommodation] budget paid for by the government was a form of bribery,” Ilham stated.

“It’s a malicious assumption. It harasses and discredits journalists’ professionalism and credibility.”

The image, which went viral on social media, lists the names of journalists working for several top news outlets, including The Jakarta Post, Kompas and Tempo. The journalists covered Susi’s official visits to several countries in Europe and Asia, as well as the US.

          The Post joined the visit to New York on the basis of an official invitation from the ministry, during which Susi represented Indonesia as a “sherpa” for the international High-Level Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy.

Ilham said that such invitations from the government were not unusual and did not affect the press’ commitment to impartial news coverage.

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