Apex Court dismisses govt appeal on Superman Hew's book

The Federal Court has dismissed the Home Ministry's application to appeal against a lower court decision to lift a ban on one of Hew Kuan Yau's books.

In a statement, Hew's (above) lawyer Vince Tan Hoo Seh said the court found that there are no novel issues nor matters of public importance in the questions posed in the Home Ministry's application.

"In light of the above decision the Court of Appeal's decision is sustained.

"The respondent (Hew) is now allowed to proceed with his application to claim damages against the government of Malaysia for the disposal of the books, reputation and opportunity loss," said Tan.

The Federal Court made no order as to cost. The panel was led by judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Zabariah Yusof and Rodzariah Bujang.

Case management for Hew's application to claim damages before the Kuala Lumpur High Court deputy registrar has been fixed for Dec 12.

The government was represented by senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly and Ng Wee Li. Hew was also represented by Shamesh Jeevaretnam.

In 2019, the Home Ministry banned Hew's comic book titled "Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism" on grounds that its content was prejudicial to public order.

Copies of his book were seized by the authorities.

Vindicated by court’s decision

Hew filed for judicial review against the move but the High Court dismissed his application in April 2021.

Following this, the Court of Appeal overturned the ruling in June and lifted the ban, prompting the Home Ministry to appeal at the Federal Court.

Hew was once a rising star in DAP and was well-known in the Chinese community for his acerbic and comedic speeches. However, he quit the party in 2016.

In a statement today, Hew said he was vindicated by the Federal Court’s decision.

"My comic book was banned by then home minister Muhyiddin Yassin. The deep state's goal was to tarnish my and DAP's reputation, by claiming we were spreading communism.

"In an effort to tear apart a Pakatan Harapan government that was in a precarious position, I was made the scapegoat," he said.

Hew stressed that his legal battle against the book ban did not involve any funds from the public or the DAP.

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