KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — An Umno MP today challenged the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to take “special action” against Cabinet members and officials associated with a pro-China comic banned for being communist propaganda.
In debating the 2020 Budget here, Datuk Seri Annuar Musa said he was surprised that such a comic was able to be distributed to some schools.
“However the people must know. That what happened, as people say, is just the tip of the iceberg. What we witnessed is just a little. What more is at the back end? Has our nation been infiltrated by communist ideologies? Or are there attempts to widen socialist-communist ideologies? Or has our government been infested by those with such ideology?
“What about those involved in writing forewords, allowing it to be distributed in schools? The deputy minister who received the book but did not criticise and then allowed it to be distributed in schools. These people must be held responsible!
“How is it that a minister, a Cabinet member, and deputy minister be involved in a document, which has been confirmed by the Home Ministry, to contain elements of communism and socialism, be distributed in schools?
“We challenge the government to take special actions, because this can result in a huge repercussion to the current government,” Annuar added.
Former DAP member Hew Kuau Yau commissioned and edited the banned comic.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng wrote a foreword for it and Teo Nie Ching was photographed receiving a copy of “Belt and Road Initiative for Win Winism” from Hew.
Annuar also congratulated the police and Home Ministry for their swift action in banning the comic and restricting its circulation.
Yesterday, the ministry announced the ban of both the Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin versions of the comic book Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism, on the grounds that it promotes and sympathises with communist and socialist ideologies, sows doubts among younger Malaysians about the country’s history, and disputes the struggles of previous generations of leaders in paving the way for the nation’s independence.
Similarly, Hew was also summoned to the Bukit Aman police headquarters today to provide a statement over the book.
Earlier today, he resigned from his chief executive post from the Malaysia-China Business Council, ostensibly to ensure the organisation’s continued smooth operations.
