This is old news by now; it
was reported in The
Malaysian Insider on the 5th of September. More importantly,
is this the end of the story? TMSI reported, "In her decision, Zaleha
questioned that if the book (Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta) was
prejudicial to public order, why was there no action taken to ban
the English version of the book?" The book was in circulation for
about two weeks before it was banned, while its original version in
English has been in the market since June 2011.All this is not new any more. But another point made by the Justice Zaleha is. "Every legal power must have limits, otherwise we will have a dictatorship." Wow! Is anyone listening?
However, we know what the reality is. Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta will never be available to the public in this country because there are other ways of restricting the circulation of books without following the legal route. Harassment is one; walk into a bookshop when it is full of customers in the pretext of looking for contraband and disrupt business. Harass book importers at customs checkpoints, delay clearance, make them open every container in front of the enforcement officers. Harass transporters. In other words, make life hell for anyone trying to sell it.
Would that be akin to a dictatorship? Look out for interesting arguments here, possibly involving Jews and Zionist! Everything is their fault!
