KUALA LUMPUR: The G25 group of former prominent civil servants has urged the Pakatan Harapan government to lift the ban imposed on their book by the previous administration.
Their lawyer, Surendra Ananth, said they had sent in a representation late last year, calling on Putrajaya to reconsider the ban on their book, “Breaking The Silence: Voices of Moderation: Islam in a Constitutional Democracy”.
“In our representation letter, we asked that the current government revoke the ban in light of its position on upholding freedom of speech,” he said, adding that the ban is still in effect today.
He said the senior federal counsel acting for then-home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had informed High Court judge Nordin Hassan that they needed time to consider the plea.
“A new hearing date is now fixed on Jan 31,” he said outside the High Court here today.
G25 filed the review against Zahid over the previous government’s decision to ban their book in June 2017.
The government then said the publication was likely to be prejudicial to public order and alarm public opinion.
However, G25 said the government had no authority to ban their book under Section 7 of the Printing Presses and Publication Act.
The book, published in December 2015, discusses the impact of Islamic bureaucracy in Malaysia and its consistency with the provisions of the Federal Constitution.
It also addresses the socio-political dimensions and cultural-economic implications on Malaysian society.
The foreword for the book was written by former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. - FMT
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