Publisher files bid to quash ban on CPM memoirs

The home ministry had banned two non-fiction books, the memoirs of former Communist Party of Malaya members.

KUALA LUMPUR: The owner of two publishing companies filed applications at the High Court here today to challenge the home minister’s decision to ban the memoirs of two Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) members.

Publisher Chong Ton Sin, who owns Gerakbudaya and the Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, is seeking a court order to quash the ban on “Memoir Shamsiah Fakeh: Dari Awas ke Rejimen Ke-10” and “Komrad Asi (Rejimen 10): Dalam Denyut Nihilisme Sejarah”.

The books were written by former CPM members Shamsiah Fakeh and Aziz Suriani.

Chong said the ban was “irrational” as both books had been in circulation for many years.

The home ministry gazetted the ban on the two titles on Feb 11 and 12, saying continuous surveillance and intelligence had found that publications containing communist elements and ideologies were being circulated more openly in the market.

The court fixed Aug 11 to hear Chong’s bid to commence judicial reviews.

PKR’s Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung and DAP’s Bandar Utama assemblyman Jamaliah Jamaluddin, who is Shamsiah’s granddaughter, previously criticised the ban.

Jamaliah said the memoir focused on her grandmother’s life journey and experiences and had not sparked any extremist activity.

She also expressed disappointment with the home ministry’s “baseless” actions and called for a review of the ban.