In an act of civil disobedience, cartoonist Zunar has said he will not include the name of the printer in his upcoming comic book, as required by the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).

“I know this would be contrary to the law, but I have a moral obligation to fight against draconian laws such as the PPPA.

“I am ready to face legal risk for my action,” he said in a statement today.

Upon conviction, he may face up to one year imprisonment, a fine of up to RM5,000, or both.

Zunar, whose real name is Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ulhaque, said that he had previously complied with the requirement under Section 11(2) of the PPPA, only to have his printers raided by the authorities.

These include the printers of his book ' Gedung Kartun' in 2009 and 'Cartoon-o-Phobia' in 2010.

Subsequently it took three months to locate a “brave” printer willing to publish his previous comic 1 Moolaysia, he said.

“These events proved that the requirement by the PPPA to include the printer's name in books is used by the government not for the purpose of controlling, but more of restricting freedom of speech by ‘killing’ books and printed materials that are critical of the BN government.

“Due to that, I have deleted the name of the printer in my new book Lawak & Lawan (Fun & Fight) as a protest,” he said.

“I also know that, as a result, this book will be tough to sell since it cannot be sold in public premises, but I am also willing to bear that risk”.

The 108-page bilingual comic is available through his website http://zunarcartoonist.com/ for RM25 each.