KUALA LUMPUR – Legal rights advocacy group Lawyers for Liberty has claimed that the raid and seizure of local author Benz Ali’s bookstore in Wisma Central here several days ago was unlawful, ignorant, and an embarrassment.
Its president, Zaid Malek, stated that the government cannot simply seize any publication it deems inappropriate without following the procedure outlined in Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA), which states that any order by the minister to ban publications must be gazetted before it has legal force.
Zaid said freedom of expression is a right protected under Article 10(1)(a) of the federal constitution, adding that neither of the seized Malay books – Marx the Revolutionary Educator nor Koleksi Puisi Masturbasi (Masturbation Poetry Collection) – were banned under the PPPA.
“The government enforcers acted unlawfully, unconstitutionally, and recklessly when they raided and seized the books from the store,” he said in a statement.
Claiming that the seizure was another move to pander to extreme conservative views, Zaid urged the government to stop all enforcement action on the seized books, halt its action under the PPPA, and take immediate steps for its repeal.
He said the “overzealous enforcement” had already occurred with the raid and seizure of Pride-themed Swatch watches in May and expressed his shock that the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government was “trigger-happy with the power it wielded under the PPPA”.
“This is a legislation notorious for its clampdown on freedom of (the) press in the past. PH had previously called for its abolition, a promise it evidently forgot.”
“Not only is this a betrayal of principles, but the manner in which the raid and seizure were conducted shows that the government is acting beyond the ambit of an already draconian law.
“Seizing or destroying books is the hallmark of a police state, not the democracy we are supposed to be.”
Zaid added that Professor Robin Small, author of the Marx book, was a respected academician in education and philosophy. As such, he described the “ignorance and plain idiocy” of the seizures as a national embarrassment.
Previously, it was reported that Benz’s Toko Buku Rakyat bookstore was raided by four officials from the Home Ministry, who cited the PPPA when pressed by Benz on why the books were being confiscated.
Benz, who is the author of Masturbation Poetry Collection, told Scoop he has no immediate plans to initiate legal action against the Home Ministry for the raid on his bookstore.
However, he expressed his commitment to raising awareness on the issue, and hopes the government will take note of the public backlash against the raid. – August 19, 2023