"I was almost shocked, as I thought I had done nothing for the press."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Three governors and one mayor have received awards from ANTARA news agency for being forthcoming with the media.
ANTARA president director Saiful Hadi presented the awards to the four regional heads during the commemoration of the news agency`s 75th anniversary here on Thursday.
The four regional heads are Lampung governor Sjachroedin ZP, South Kalimantan governor Rudy Ariffin, West Sulawesi governor Anwar Adnan Saleh, and Makassar mayor Ilham Arief Sirajuddin.
Governor Rudy Ariffin said he was surprised to learn that he had been named one of the four ANTARA Award recipients.
"I was almost shocked, as I thought I had done nothing for the press but was still considered worthy of receiving this award," he explained.
Rudy expressed optimism that ANTARA would become a world-class news agency.
Governor Anwar Adnan Saleh stated that he had never imagined he would receive the award.
"As the governor of Indonesia`s youngest province, I won the award thanks to the role of the mass media, particularly ANTARA news agency," he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Sjahroedin ZP expressed gratitude to the ANTARA board of directors for the award.
"We hope that ANTARA will stay at the forefront and continue to offset the unbalanced reporting by other news publishers," he said.
Mayor Ilham Arief Syirajuddin expressed hope that the award would motivate him to provide better services to the public.
(T.D016/S012/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
