KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — In a triumph for a local publisher today, the High Court here overturned the government’s ban on the Bahasa Malaysia version of Canadian writer Irshad Manji’s book Allah, Liberty and Love.
When contacted today, ZI Publication Sdn Bhd’s counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar confirmed that the publisher had won the judicial review that was filed more than a year ago.
Imtiaz said the court ruled that the Home Ministry’s ban of the book Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta was unlawful.
“The High Court basically quashed the ban order in respect of the Malay translation by ZI Publications,” he said.
Imtiaz said that the judge had agreed with ZI’s application that the home minister’s order was made beyond his scope of statutory powers to ban publications.
Justice Zaleha Yusof ruled that the ZI Publications has the legal right to challenge the government’s ban, saying that it had affected the publisher who had published Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta, The Star’s portal reported today.
On July 9 last year, ZI had filed a judicial review application against the ban order, naming the home minister, the deputy home minister and the government as respondents.
The home minister, who was then Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, had reportedly ruled that the book had breached the Islamic teachings contained in the Quran and Hadith.
On May 29 last year, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) reportedly raided ZI’s premises and seized 180 copies of the book Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta.
JAIS had also arrested ZI’s director Mohd Ezra Mohd Zaid and hauled him to the Syariah court.
On March 7, 2013, Ezra, the son of former minister Zaid Ibrahim, was charged in the Syariah court with three counts for publishing, distributing and being in possession of a book that had allegedly breached Syariah laws.
Imtiaz said today the legal team were still considering the implications of today’s High Court ruling , but said it would likely strengthen the position of Ezra in the Syariah court.
