Hundreds of residents affected by the proposed billion-ringgit thermal incinerator project in Selangor, are perturbed by the apparent lack of news on the issue and strongly suspect that there is a political directive for a media blackout.

Noting that a few news and feature articles have been published by the New Straits Times and the Malay Mail on the incinerator in Kampung Bohol, Puchong, the residents nevertheless sense political pressure playing a role in the matter being ignored or downplayed by major newspapers.

Some charge that one English daily tabloid had even placed a 'total ban' on the subject.

This concern was raised at a 'no-incinerator' talk in a campaign organised by the Puchong residents' pro tem action committee on Sunday at Taman OUG, Old Klang Road, in Kuala Lumpur.

The gathering, which had a police permit and drew some 500 people, had addressed issues ranging from the health risks of living within the vicinity of an incinerator as listed in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the discrepancies within the report to the deaf ear by the government.