Hew: My comic is not a DAP publication

Former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau stressed that the comic "Belt and Road Initiative for Win Winism" is not DAP publication and he will take the full responsibility for any issues regarding the comic book.

Hew said the real target of those who criticise the comic is not him, but those who are perceived to be behind him, namely DAP.

"In fact, this is not a publication by DAP. I repeat, this is not published by DAP", Hew told the media after giving his statement at the Bukit Aman police headquarters today.

"There are many people who are not intending to attack me, but the thing behind me. They claimed that I am helping DAP to promote communism.

"I would say that if one really wants to condemn somebody, there will be no lack of excuses."

Umno vice president Ismail Sabri Yaakob today said the comic promotes a communist ideology and described it as "DAP's book".

For the record, Hew has quit the party since 2016, whereas the comic was published in August this year.

When asked about the foreword written by DAP chairperson Tan Kok Wai and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Hew said he believed both leaders had read the book penning the foreword.

"They should have read it, but we will let the police to investigate the detailed situation. They were just penning the forewords."

Hew said that he will take the full responsibility as he wrote all the text in the comic alone, and the local comic artist Chong Po Ling (also known by her pseudonym Tomato) only contributed drawing the comic accordingly.

"She was just transforming my text into a comic, so if there is any issue please come to me. I also told the police the same thing. I will take full responsibility," he said.

Meanwhile, Hew stressed that he had done a lot of research by reading various thesis and journals before he wrote the text.

In response to criticism that the comic amounted to Chinese propaganda, especially in the handling of the Uyghur community and the South China Sea issue, Hew said he was merely expressing his own historical world view in his book.

"As a historian, I am just expressing my interpretation of the belt and road initiative (BRI) through a comic. I have my historical word view, this is quite normal."

He further explained that it is unreasonable to take the BRI out of the historical context or not mentioning China President Xi Jinping in his book.

Hew is among the four persons who gave their statements at the Federal Police Headquarters in Bukit Aman concerning the comic today.

He was first called to give a statement for three hours on last Friday (18 Oct) and today he submitted five sets of the trilingual comics to the police and gave his staments for another three hours.

The other three persons who were called to assist the investigation are the comic artist Chong Po Ling, the manager of the Asia Comic Cultural Museum Raymond Chong, and a representative of the printing company.

Hew's lawyer Rajsurian Pillai said that the police did not reveal they are being investigated under which provisions. However, he said the police revealed that some police reports are made in Kedah by normal public. - Mkini