Placards will be raised outside Angkasapuri tomorrow when three pro-media freedom groups protest the sacking of RTM producer Chou Z Lam.

The 528 Media Action Group, Writers Alliance for Media Independence, and Centre for Independent Journalism, expect some 80 people to join the event at 11am.

people are the boss forum 220208 ng yap hwa 528 Media Action Group coordinator Ng Yap Hwa ( right ) said they will be joined by villagers from Rawang New Village, who were featured in an RTM documentary that has been pulled back from broadcast.

Chou's services were terminated last week after he dropped a bombshell alleging that political interference was the reason why his documentary on the Bakun dam in Sarawak had been taken off the air.

He claimed, though, that he was told his one-year contract was terminated "due to budget constraints".

Chou had produced a nine-part documentary on the negative impact of the Bakun Dam project on indigenous people who were displaced to make way for the multi-billion ringgit project.

The series was slotted for the 'Galeri Mandarin Nasional' between April 26 and May 7, but only two segments were broadcast before the series was removed.

NONE Chou ( left ) claimed in his blog that the documentary was taken off air because the station's top officials felt it would have a negative impact on the Barisan Nasional's chances in the Sibu by-election.

Barely a week later, RTM pulled back another documentary highlighting the plight of Rawang New Village residents and their prolonged opposition to the construction of high-tension cable towers in their village by Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

This came after RTM and the Information Ministry had both denied Chou's allegations.

RTM director-general of broadcasting Ibrahim Yahaya declared that the station is "free" from political meddling, while deputy Information Minister Heng Seai Kie said Chou's programme was one-sided and did not portray the positive aspects of the Bakun project.

NONE Over the past two weeks, groups of Malaysians have organised 'flashmobs' in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Penang to protest against the censorship.

A flashmob is a group of strangers who organise themselves, using electronic media such as cell phones or the Internet, to gather together in a public place for a brief period and quickly disperse.

There is also a campaign urging Malaysians to boycott newspapers and switch of their televisions between 8pm and 9pm on May 28 as an act of protest.