Political cartoons is a risky business in Malaysia as cartoonist Zunar found out in the course of convincing printers to work on his new book ‘Pirates of the Carry-BN'.

Zunar, the nom de plume of Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, said he had 10 printers turn him down before coming across a willing printer, but there was a catch.

"They agreed to print my work only if I blacked out their name. Printing was conducted only at night. It was like they were printing illicit pornography," he told Malaysiakini during a recent interview.

NONEPrinters were apparently jittery with Zunar's work because printers for his previous publications were raided by the Home Ministry in 2009 and 2010.

This, said Zunar, had forced his hand into omitting the printer's name, although it is a legal requirement under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA).

"It is the only solution I had. I'm not trying to create problems but the Home Ministry forced me to do this," he said, adding that his search for a printer took about a month.

'Pirates of the Carry-BN' is Zunar's latest compilation of 130 full-coloured cartoons on an diverse range of issues, from electoral fraud to mysteries surrounding the death of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Briefly arrrested

His previous works such as ‘Cartoon-O-Phobia', ‘1Funny Malaysia', ‘Perak Darul Kartun' and ‘Isu Dalam Kartun' had courted investigations by the police under the PPPA. He was also briefly arrested for allegedly violating the Sedition Act 1948.

For Zunar, these laws do more harm than good and are designed to protect only those in power because to him, his cartoons reflect the truth from his perspective.

He explained that thorough research is conducted on every issue he wishes to express himself on.

NONE"I need to know the issues and collect information from every angle, such as newspapers, internet articles and interviewing some people to get more information.

"After that, I take a stand on the issue and find a joke within. That is how I compose cartoons," said Zunar (right), who added that his pen's main target was corrupt government officials.

He admits that some people will not be able to associate themselves with his work because it is perceived to be political in nature, but he would warn such people that neutrality does not help the war on graft.

"As I've said before: How can I be neutral if even my pen has a stand? If people stay neutral, it means implicit support for the rampant corruption we are experiencing.

"When something is not right, we must come up with ways to go about it. For me, I compose cartoons, that is what I do best," he said.

‘Pirates of the Carry-BN' is priced at RM25 available exclusively through Zunar's website. Zunar's cartoons have appeared in Malaysiakini for more than a decade.