KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — Former sex blogger Alvin Tan is launching a book called Sex, pork and persecution in which he touts tales on sex, police and prison as well “some serious shit” thrown in for good measure.
Tan, whose claim to fame comes from a now-defunct sex blog he ran with Vivian Lee — the other half of the duo that form the “Alvivi” contraction — is also in the dock with her over a mock Ramadan posting the two uploaded to Facebook.
In a post publicising the upcoming release, Tan alleged of the difficulties in getting the book to print.
“I fought hard to get this book released, because publishers, distributors, printing companies, and, most importantly, retailers — while intrigued by the sales potential of my book — were all very afraid of being prosecuted by the government.
“The publishing industry is terribly, terribly infiltrated and controlled by the government, and publishing companies have gone out of business after being closed down by the government for publishing political books,” he wrote.
Tan claimed it to be a “miracle” to have found a publisher willing to gamble on him and his book, from which he claims he will make no profit.
Sex, pork and persecution is currently on sale at the Silverfish Books office in Bangsar here.
It is also unclear if Lee is involved in the book, or if she is planning one of her own.
In January The Malay Mail Online reported that the two were considering separation after bouts of infidelity.
On April 21, the two won a legal victory when they succeeded in getting a charge of causing religious hostility stemming from the mock video last year dismissed.
Tan and Lee still face a charge under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for publishing a seditious photograph and the words "Selamat Berbuka Puasa" (dengan Bak Kut Teh...wangi, enak, menyelerakan!)
[Happy breaking fast with bak kut teh...fragrant, delicious, appetising]" on their Facebook page on July 11 that also showed a halal logo.
They are also in the dock for a second remaining charge under subsection 5(1) of the Film Censorship Act 2002 for displaying pornographic images on their blog, alviviswingers.tumblr.com, between July 6 and July 7.
The two were charged for all three offences on July 18 last year.
The couple had first courted controversy over the videos and photographs of their sexual exploits that had been posted on a now-defunct blog.
* Silverfish Books contacted The Malay Mail Online to clarify that they are not the publishers of Tan’s book or hosting any launch of the title. The article has been amended to reflect.
