THE government may lift the ban on a book on moderate Islam which was published by the G25 group of retired top civil servants, said a lawyer representing the grouping.

The group had filed for a judicial review in October 2017 to challenge a ban on the book, Breaking the Silence: Voices of Moderation – Islam in a Constitutional Democracy.

Last September, G25 appealed to the Pakatan Harapan government to lift the ban, in line with the coalition’s stand on free speech.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has fixed January 31 as a new hearing date after a government lawyer told the court today that Putrajaya will take the appeal into consideration, G25 lawyer Surendra Ananth confirmed.

Under the previous Barisan Nasional government, the Home Ministry gazetted a ban on the book in July 27, 2017 on the grounds that it was “prejudicial to public order”.

The book, which contains essays by scholars and activists, was published in 2015 with a foreword by former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

G25 comprises former senior Malay-Muslim civil servants, who have spoken out on conflicts between shariah and civil laws, and called for reforms to how religious authorities function. – January 2, 2019.