PETALING JAYA: The editor of the banned book “Rebirth: Reformasi, Resistance, And Hope in New Malaysia”, Kean Wong, has been released following the end of his remand period.
Wong, who is based in Australia, was arrested yesterday while renewing his passport at the Kelana Jaya immigration office.
Bukit Aman’s criminal investigation department (CID) director, Shuhaily Zain said that the case is being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948, the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1948, and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1948.
“Investigations are still being carried out, and the public is advised to not make any speculation that could interfere with the investigation,” said Shuhaily in a statement.
The book comprises political analyses and reports on the 2018 general election (GE14), which marked the end of Barisan Nasional’s six-decades of grip on power.
The book was banned in July 2020 due to complaints regarding its cover, which included a caricature of Malaysia’s coat of arms, the Jata Negara. The book was also illustrated with a naked child flanked by two tigers with humanoid faces stepping on a crocodile.
The publisher, Gerakbudaya, later apologised for the design and said it had no intention of insulting or ridiculing the national emblem.
Huzir Mohamed, the Bukit Aman CID director at the time, said that statements had been recorded from the eight writers who contributed chapters to the book, as well as the graphic artists and a book sales adviser.
At the time, rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) criticised the probe, saying that the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1963, under which the investigation was carried out, only prohibited the use of the official coat of arms without written permission from the minister.
LFL also said the law did not prohibit any artistic rendition inspired by the nation’s coat of arms, such as the one used on the book’s cover, adding that “no sane person” would mistake it for the country’s actual coat of arms.
