PETALING JAYA: DAP’s Hew Kuan Yau says that his comic book titled “Belt and Road Initiative” suffered controversy because the Tanjung Piai General by-election is near.
He said since the by-election is near, his comic book had become an issue as the government wanted to obtain the support of the Malay voters.
In his Facebook post, he also mentioned the Facebook post by former prime minister Najib Razak who had claimed that the comic book was mere DAP propaganda and was aimed at tarnishing his image and that of his previous administration.
Accompanying his Facebook post was a photo of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad watching Chinese President Xi Jinping reading the comic book during their April meeting in China in conjunction with the Belt and Road Forum.
“This is a photo that will always be interpreted in different ways,” Hew said.
“Umno and PH will eventually reach a dead-end, while my work has helped in improving relations between Malaysia and China.
“History will serve me justice,” he added.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Office clarified that Hew’s comic book entitled “Belt and Road Initiative for Win Winism” was not given to President Xi Jinping by Dr Mahathir as an official gift.
The statement added that Mahathir was not involved in publishing the book and did not know its contents.
“He did not give any consent for his picture to be used for any purpose, nor did he give any authorisation for the book to be distributed in schools,” the statement added.
The publisher, the Asia Comics and Cultural Museum, headed by Hew, had said the comic book was about Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The Penang state government has distanced itself from the publication, with Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow saying his administration merely helped lease retail space for the Asia Comics and Cultural Museum at the IT Mall in Komtar.
Chow said the museum has nothing to do with DAP.
The education ministry has clarified that it did not give approval for the free distribution of the comic book in secondary and vernacular schools.
The ministry has instructed all state and district education offices to ensure all schools did not accept or distribute this comic book from any supplier.
Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said initial investigations by the ministry’s security division indicated that the contents in the publication were a cause for concern.
In an earlier Facebook posting, Hew had stated that the 164-page comic book was published in three languages and 2,500 copies in Bahasa Malaysia were distributed to school libraries as reference material.
He said the book, split into 10 chapters, had obtained a proper reference number from the National Library.
FMT
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