WAMI, and CIJ stress that, if the authorities or any party finds the book by internationally renowned sociologist Prof Norani Othman (Institute of Malaysia and International Studies, UKM) to be false or misleading, they should be able to put their case by exposing and rebutting them. They must have the courage to engage in public debate and win the battle of public opinion.

Banning books that one cannot rebut or debunk is the height of cowardice for the intellectually inferior. Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) which provides for the banning of these two books and imposes up to a fine of RM 2,000, imprisonment of three years or both for anyone printing, producing or owning them is a shame to Malaysia.

In the spirit of the coming Merdeka (Independence) anniversary, WAMI, and CIJ call upon all Malaysians to push for the establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on Media Law Reform to review all media-related laws – including the PPPA - to ensure all regulations are reasonable and justified. A memorandum launched on the World Press Freedom Day (May 3) this year articulating this demand is now collecting signatures through www.benar.org.

We urge all Malaysians to support this memorandum which will be presented to national leaders on August 31 and to state leaders on September 16 to indicate our gratitude for and our commitment to uphold the freedom Malaysians are entitled to as an independent nation. In particular, we call for Islamic NGOs to come forward to stop book banning and push the government for a more open process for reviewing books on Islam.

Ends

Issued by

Centre for Independent Journalism

and

Wong Chin Huat

Chairperson,

Writers' Alliance for Media Independence

For more information please contact Wai Fong at 03 40230772.