Keep up with the times, govt told after ‘communist’ book seizure

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has urged the government to move on from its “Cold War guidelines” following the Home Ministry’s seizure of several books related to the communist insurgency in Malaya.

The party’s deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan noted that Malaysia had already signed a peace accord with the Communist Party of Malaya in 1989, the Cold War ended in 1991, and Malaysia has trade agreements with major communist countries like China and Vietnam.

Yet, the government, particularly the Home Ministry, continues to operate as though the Cold War still rages on, he said.

“I was told that previously, the Special Branch was traditionally trained during British colonisation to smell for communist elements and these practices were continued during the early days of Merdeka and continue even today.

“It is time the standard operating procedures are revisited, and refresher courses are done, starting with the home minister himself […]

“Anwar Ibrahim’s government should focus on reviving the economy and its popularity rather than reviving communism and Cold War propaganda. It is time to move on from 1989,” Arutchelvan (above) said in a statement.

Book seizures

Yesterday, Home Ministry enforcers confiscated eight Chinese-language books from the independent bookstore Gerakbudaya in Petaling Jaya, reportedly to facilitate investigations.

Five of the books appear to be part of a series about the history of the communist insurgency in Malaya, and two are memoirs by CPM members. It is unclear what the one remaining book is about.

In a statement today, the Home Ministry said it was conducting an inspection and seizure of the eight books because they are suspected to contain “undesirable elements” in accordance with Section 7 of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA).

It had done this after receiving information regarding books containing “communist elements” at the bookstore.

“The seizure of those publications was conducted in line with provisions under Section 18 of the PPPA, which empowers Home Ministry enforces to detain any publication suspected to be in violation of law for further study,” it said.

Previously, the ministry had similarly confiscated two books in August from another bookstore owned by the author Benz Ali, including one book about Karl Marx whose works gave rise to communist and socialist ideologies.

“I really don’t see anything which warrants the home minister to scoop for these historical books on past events and facts unless it is meant to divert attention to other things,” Arutchelvan said regarding the latest seizure.

“Also, for the record, books written by (CPM leader) Chin Peng himself have not been banned and are widely sold.”

He said it would be better for the Home Ministry to buy the books, study them, and only confiscate them if there are reasons to do so.

“It should be ‘investigate then act’. Not ‘act and then investigate’,” he said.

Previously, in response to criticism against the seizure of books from Benz’s shop, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said the books would be returned if found to not contain any elements that could trigger public unrest.

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