the aftermath of the alleged banning of dozens of journalists from covering the inauguration of the deputy mayor of Padang which was carried out by the governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi on Tuesday (9 May 2023).

Hundreds of journalists in West Sumatra Province staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Governor of West Sumatra Province, Wednesday (10 May 2023).

not only from electronic media crews, journalists from writing and photos also took part in suing the person who had banned coverage, this included a form of obstructing the media's task of finding and producing news.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Television Journalists for West Sumatra Province, Imung said "When someone bans or expels press workers in search of news, they can be punished with a sentence of up to 2 years and a fine of 500,000,000 Rupiah which has been regulated by the Indonesian press law in Number 40 of 1999,".

imung added "the provincial government of West Sumatra is considered to have abused the journalist profession, it was recorded that in 2023 alone the provincial government of West Sumatra has injured the performance of the press several times, most recently the governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi said Karya Media Massa in West Sumatra Hoaxs," .

After making speeches, all the journalists spread flowers and took off their ID cards, a sign of the death of press freedom in West Sumatra province.

Furthermore, all journalists reported to the West Sumatra regional police office against persons who had obstructed reporting on the inauguration of the deputy mayor of Padang then.