NGOs protest against book ban

THE STAR
Wednesday December 10, 2008

NGOs protest against book ban with 1,000 signed postcards


PUTRAJAYA: A group of 10 non-governmental organisations including Sisters in Islam, Suaram and representatives from the Bar Council handed some 1,000 postcards protesting against the banning of books to the Home Ministry here.

SIS senior programme manager Maria Chin Abdullah said the postcards were collected from September and bore the signatures of people voicing their protest over the ban.

“We are concerned because the guidelines leading to the ban of books are vague and the decision by the Government is often arbitrary. Some of the banned books have also been published and widely sold in stores for some time but then, the Government decides to confiscate them.

“Similarly, we didn’t even know the books were banned until we read about it in the newspapers,” she told reporters here yesterday, pointing to a book published by SIS — Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism — as an example.

“We want the ministry to call for a consultation with all the parties involved in the publication of books to resolve this matter. Banning books has a negative effect on information and intellectual development,” she pointed out.

Maria said the non-governmental bodies also wanted to know if writers would be compensated for losses suffered when their books are damaged or destroyed in the confiscation process.

The SIS book was edited by Prof Norani Othman from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, who was also present.

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