PONTIAN, Oct 25 — The Home Ministry has yet to receive any official request to review its decision on banning the Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism comic book, said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The home minister said he had only just heard about the matter.
“If the leadership intends to make an appeal on the matter, I have no issue with hearing it as long as there is a strong basis to revise the decision (banning),” said Muhyiddin after attending a meeting with Home Ministry personnel at the Pontian district police headquarters here today.
Also present was Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Alwi Ibrahim and its deputy secretary-general (security) Datuk Zainal Abidin Abu Hassan.
Muhyiddin was responding to DAP leader Lim Kit Siang’s allegation that the Home Ministry had overstepped its promise to allow more freedom to the media with the ban on the comic book by former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau.
Yesterday, the Iskandar Puteri MP came to Hew’s defence, stating that Pakatan Harapan (PH), of which DAP is a part, had not acted correctly in handling the comic book saga.
He said it came as a shock to discover Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism had been banned under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984’s Section 7(1).
“I do not believe that the Home Ministry acted rightly in levelling the charges that Hew’s comic book was promoting communism and sympathy for the communist struggle,” Lim had said in a statement.
Muhyiddin said the decision to ban the comic book had been done in the public interest.
“It is not about punishing anyone but what’s important from the ministry’s point of view is upholding public order.
“The ministry has to make sure that any form of ideology is not able to easily influence our rakyat,” said Muhyiddin.
The Pagoh MP added that, as of today, the ministry has seized a total of 1,250 copies of the comic book.
On Wednesday, the Home Ministry announced the ban of both the Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin versions of the comic, 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 to provide a statement over the book. Earlier today, he resigned from the Malaysia China Business Council (MCBC), ostensibly to ensure the organisation’s continued smooth operations.
