"Journalists in oppressive environments" will be one of the major topics to be discussed at a regional seminar on Access to Information in Southeast Asia in Petaling Jaya this Saturday.

About 50 members of the local and regional media corps, non-governmental organisations, academia and research agencies will participate in the seminar, according to organising-coordinator Padmaja Padman.

A paper on the role of journalists in the struggle against dictatorship in the 1980s will be delivered by Melinda de Jesus, while Indonesian journalist Lukas Luwaso will speak on the Indonesian experience in the 1990s.

Thailand's Kavi Chongkittavorn, who is The Nation 's executive editor, will speak on his country's experience on how the media, civil society and government create an atmosphere conducive to more openness.

Among the Malaysian journalists to address the seminar include The Star 's assistant news editor, K Parkaran, who will touch on the topic of "Breaching the barriers to information access", and Internet website Agenda Malaysia 's managing editor Rehman Rashid, who will speak on "Delivering market-driven information".

Human Rights Commissioner and former judge, Mahadev Shankar, will give the opening address.

"The seminar will also discuss the findings of a pioneering study into the state of information access and disclosure in eight Asean countries, including Malaysia," said Padmaja, a former journalist in New Straits Times.

A comparative study of the situation in these Asean countries will be presented by the Philippines Center of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) executive director Sheila S Coronel, while Padmaja will brief participants on how Malaysia is faring compared to its neighbours.

Padmaja said the seminar will also look at joint responses required of the media and civil society in this region to meet the challenges of the future.

The one-day seminar is funded by the United Nations Development Programme and organised by PCIJ and Seapa, a Bangkok-based regional journalists organisation (Seapa is a sponsor of malaysiakini ).