The Home Ministry is appealing against the Court of Appeal's decision to lift the ban on two cartoon books authored by Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaq, better known as Zunar, which lapsed on Sunday.

The court had also ordered the return of the books.

 

Zunar's solicitor, Rafeeza Hamdan, confirmed her firm had, about 2.30pm today, received a letter from the Attorney-General's Chambers, dated yesterday, that it is appealing the decision.

 

"Our firm received a fax informing us of the Home Ministry's decision to appeal this afternoon," Rafeeza told Malaysiakini .

Earlier this morning, Zunar had tweeted that “Peguam baru sahkan kjaan Tidak rayu keputusan Mkmh Rayuan yg batalkan pengharaman buku Zunar, Perak Darul Kartun & 1 Funny Malaysia! (My lawyers have confirmed the government is not appealing the Court of Appeal decision to lift the ban on ‘Perak Darul Kartun’ and ‘1 Funny Malaysia’).

 

A three-member bench at the Court of Appeal headed by Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof had unanimously lifted the Home Ministry's ban on the two books, imposed by then minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

 

The other judges were Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Justice Varghese George Varghese.

 

Justice Mohamad Ariff and Justice Varghese wrote separate judgments in allowing Zunar's appeal.

 

The two books ‘Perak Darul Kartun’ and ‘1 Funny Malaysia’, which had brisk sales, were banned five years ago by the Home Ministry.

 

The two books were published by Sepakat Efektif Sdn Bhd and Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd.

Rib-tickling

Justice Mohamad Ariff wrote that while the cartoons could be deemed “rude”, satires and parodies should not be dealt with in the same seriousness as written prose.

“No reasonable person will read a cartoon with the same concentration, contemplation and seriousness as one would when reading a work of literature,” he noted.

“When read (more likely, glanced through), they would tickle the ribs, perhaps evoke a chuckle, and make one reflect for a momentary instance the humorous side of life," Justice Mohamad Ariff said.

 

Justice Varghese in his written judgment said a maturing democratic society, which Malaysia prides itself of, would be poorer if access to the inherent richness found in such art forms is curtailed on the grounds it is undesirable.

 

The minister's affidavits stated the materials in the books undermined or tarnished the confidence of the public in the judiciary or were defamatory of individuals or other groups, Justice Varghese noted.

 

“However, it cannot be denied that, insofar as the courts are concerned, they are armed with sufficient powers to protect or safeguard their integrity against any contempt, either on its own motion or at the instance of the honourable attorney-general or any aggrieved party.

 

“There are in existence a legal process and powers to effectively deal with any affront to the court's dignity or any attempt at interference with the administration of justice,” he added.

 

In rapping the minister, Justice Varghese said the minister's decision to ban both publications on grounds they are prejudicial to public order was unsupportable.

 

“The minister has here acted unreasonably and irrationally in issuing the orders as he did. With due respect, the learned judge sitting in the review court below (the High Court) could have granted the order of certiorari applied and quashed the minister's order,” he said.

 

Despite the lifting of the ban on those books, the authorities last week seized Zunar's new work, ‘Komplot Penjarakan Anwar’ (Conspiracy to imprison Anwar), which was being sold near the Palace of Justice during Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II appeal, during which three people were also arrested.