About 30 people held a brief silent protest gathering this afternoon at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre to commemorate World Press Freedom Day, which falls tomorrow.

flash mob read newspaper upside down 020510 03 Organised by the Writers' Alliance for Media Independence (Wami), among others, they gathered at the fountain area of KLCC Park to protest political interference in the media and to call for press freedom.

Sitting on the steps at the entrance to the KLCC Suria mall, they sought to put their point across by ‘reading’ mainstream newspapers upside down.

The event, to protest what the group described was the saturation in the media by “lies, political meddling, political ownership, censorship and spin-doctoring,” was also aimed at expressing solidarity with Joshua Wong and Chou Z Lam - the two television journalists said to have recently complained of interference by politicians.

flash mob read newspaper upside down 020510 06 The group, which has set up a Facebook page and called itself the 'Flashmob for Press Freedom', attracted the attention of curious onlookers and tourists almost as soon as the activists sat down with their newspapers and posed for the photographers.

"By reading mainstream newspaper upside down, we try to remind the public to see things in a different perspective, because we often don’t get correct information from mainstream media," Wami president Wong Chin Huat told reporters.

flash mob read newspaper upside down 020510 07 Activist Wong Kieng Maen said he decided to join the action to express his support for press freedom.

“A lot of Malaysian dare not express themselves. If it (what we want to say) is right, we must say it out loud,” said Kieng Maen.

Umno Youth members join protest

The event also saw the unexpected participation of about 20 Umno Youth members, led by one who identified himself as Hishamuddin Yahya, who came with copies of PAS organ Harakah and PKR’s Suara Keadilan .

“I think opposition (parties) newspapers also distort the truth. The mainstream newspapers, on the other hand, do much better reporting.

flash mob read newspaper upside down 020510 umno youth mohd hishamuddin yahya “What they (do the opposition) want? They are not fair to the mainstream media,” said Hishamuddin ( right ), who apparently considered party mouthpieces the same as mass-circulation newspapers.

Former ntv7 producer Joshua resigned on April after complaints from the Prime Minister’s Department and the Prime Minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor about his talkshow ‘Editor’s Time’.

Chou, who is with state television station RTM, saw his 10-episode documentary - which focused on the dislocations experienced by the villagers of Sungai Asap in Sarawak due to the construction of the Bakun Dam - slashed to two episodes.

Both Joshua and Chou were among those present at the gathering at KLCC today. The group dispersed peacefully after 10 minutes.

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