THE Home Ministry has today banned a book that allegedly insults the national coat of arms.

Its minister, Hamzah Zainudin, said in a statement that the book – a collection of political essays titled Rebirth: Reformasi, Resistance, And Hope In New Malaysia – fell afoul of the Printing Presses and Publications (Control of Undesirable Publications) Order 2020 and, with the authority conferred upon him under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, banned it.

The order prohibits the “printing, importation, production, reproduction, publishing, sale, issue, circulation, distribution or possession of the publication… likely to be prejudicial to public order, which is likely to be prejudicial to security, which is likely to alarm public opinion, which is likely to be contrary to any law and which is likely to be prejudicial to national interest”.

Criticism and reports lodged over the book pointed to the book’s cover, which bears an artistic rendering of the Jata Negara featuring a naked child flanked by two tigers with humanoid faces stepping on a crocodile.

Edited by Kean Wong, the book was published earlier this year and has been on sale for nearly six months.

The book’s publisher, Gerakbudaya, has said it had no intention of insulting the national coat of arms.

Yesterday, about 300 copies of the book were seized in a police raid.

The police said it had also identified the cover artist.

However, earlier today, Lawyers for Liberty said that the artwork was not new and and had been part of an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur in 2014.

“Thus, it begs the question as to why such artwork is only now considered offensive and unacceptable?” the group had said. – July 1, 2020.