Malaysia Book Ban Irks Rights Group

Activists in Malaysia have demanded an inquiry into a government ban on 56 books, saying the move violated fundamental rights to freedom of expression and information.

Rights group Suaram on Friday lodged a protest with the government's Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) calling for an investigation into the banning of the books.

Yap Swee Seng, Suaram's executive director, told AFP: "We want to know the reasons behind the ban and we hope Suhakam can look into whether the reasons given are valid and justifiable from the perspective of human rights."

Most of the books the Internal Security Ministry website lists as banned are related to religion, and Islam in particular, although some tackle race, illegal drugs and sex.

Religion and race

One book documents bloody race riots that erupted in 2001 in a rundown suburb of Kuala Lumpur, shocking Malaysia, where ethnic clashes are rare. Race and religion are considered sensitive topics by the government of mainly Muslim Malaysia, while sex and sexuality are also taboo areas.

Suaram said it was "unacceptable" that academic titles such as The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong, and John L Esposito's What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam were banned.

The organisation said: "The ban of academic works by the ministry is a death knell to academic freedom in Malaysia.

"More importantly, the ban of these books violates the freedom of expression of the authors and the right to receive and impart information freely of the general public."

The group called for authors to be given the right to appeal the ban and to seek redress in Malaysian courts if the ministry rejected the appeal.

Other titles on the banned list include Cannabis Culture, Weed World and Classic Nude Photography Techniques and Images. (Al-Jazeera)

***** While the government has every right to ban books which it thinks is detrimental to either the nation or her citizens, this right should be used judiciously and with a little commonsense. Moreover the decision should not be left to faceless bureaucrats in the home ministry whose knowledge on many issues is suspect, but should include a broad range of academicians and others whose input would be more meaningful than mere civil servants with the "saya yang menurut perintah" mentality.
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