Home Ministry bans three publications

The Home Ministry has banned three publications deemed to be detrimental to public order and confusing to Muslims, effective April 22.

Secretary-general Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim, in a statement today, named the publications as 'Rasulullah SAW Sejak Hijrah Hingga Wafat' published by Pustaka Hidayah, Bandung, Indonesia; 'Tafsir Ayat-Ayat Kematian' also published by Pustaka Hidayah and 'Sinema Spiritual: Dramaturgi dan Kritikan' published by Unit Buku Harakah, Kuala Lumpur.

He said the ban, enforced in accordance with Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, imposed a total prohibition on the printing, importation, production, reproduction, sale, publication, distribution or possession of these publications in the country.

Violating the ban would be deemed as having committed an offence under Section 8(2) of the Act, he said, adding that the penalty was a maximum three-year jail term or a fine of up to RM20,000, or both, upon conviction.

Alwi said the ban was imposed to prevent any attempt to infuse Syiah propaganda through the sale and distribution of the publications as they could confuse Muslims and possibly have a negative implication on Muslims in Malaysia in terms of the security and social aspects.

He advised people who came across the publications to lodge a report with the Publications and Quranic Text Control Division of the ministry at telephone 03-88868047, fax 03-88891682 or the Integrated Public Complaints System at http://moha.spab.gov.my.