The Kuala Lumpur High Court today granted leave for the author of a banned book on the Kampung Medan incident to seek a judicial review of the proscription.

Justice Wan Afrah Wan Ibrahim of the court's appellate and special powers division made the decision after senior federal counsel Suzana Atan told the court that the Attorney-General's Chambers had no objections to the application.

Author K Arumugam is seeking to quash the ban imposed by the Home Ministry and to allow the circulation of his book, March 8 .

The book analyses the 2001 Kampung Medan conflict that saw the death of six persons and over 90 casualties - mostly Indians.

Victory of sorts

Arumugam said the ban of his book - which discusses the extent to which the government's security agencies were able to contain the 15-day violence - was an attempt by the government to shirk from its own culpability over the incident.

When contacted, his lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said while this was only a grant of leave to their application, it was "a small victory" of sorts.

"Surprisingly, they didn't raise any objections this morning. That's a good thing, for now, considering the substance of the matter in the review application revolves around freedom of expression as well as the right to disseminate information," he said.

Arumugam's book was one of 18 banned by the government in January.

The others include such titles as Kamasutra: Apakah Kebaikannya (Kamasutra: What are its benefits) by Drs Munir Rahmat, Pengakuan Mangsa Rogol (A rape victim's confession) by Ayu Mayangsari, Negara Tuhan (God's country) by Tigga, The Origin of Species by F Susilohardo Basuki Hernowo, Islam and the West: A New Political and Religious Order Post September 11 by Robert Van de Weyer, and numerous others.