KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 ― Prolific author Dr Mohd Faizal Musa, known popularly as Faisal Tehrani, won leave from the Kuala Lumpur High Court today for a judicial review against the Home Ministry’s ban on four of his novels over alleged links to Shiah teachings.
Faizal is seeking to quash the order, in addition to declaring that it to be in violation of Articles 8(1) and 10(1)(a) of the Federal Constitution that deal with equality under the law and the right to freedom of speech and expression, respectively.
The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer is also seeking a declaration that the order is ultra vires ― Latin for beyond the powers ― of Section 7 of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 that governs “undesirable publications”.
The application was filed on June 29 this year, after the ban took effect on April 1, allegedly as the books were found to have “contained Shiah elements” and “contravened Sunni teachings”.
The ministry’s Publications and Quranic Texts Control Division secretary Hasmimah Nik Jaafar was quoted by state agency Bernama on May 5 as saying that the Publication Prohibition Order was gazetted on the four books because they contained “elements detrimental to public order and safety”.
The books banned were “Sebongkah Batu di Kuala Berang” published by PTS Litera Utama Sdn Bhd, “Karbala” published by Abeerden Books World, “Tiga Kali Seminggu” and “Ingin Jadi Nasrallah”, both published by Al-Ameen Serve Holdings Sdn Bhd.
Case management is scheduled for September 28.
In May last year, the Home Ministry had banned another of Faizal’s book, “Perempuan Nan Bercinta”, despite it being launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2012.
The ministry had said that he book would affect the “safety and social aspects” of Muslims nationwide by allegedly trying to confuse the Sunni Muslims in the country.
Prior to that, two of his books and a play had been investigated by religious authorities, after he was linked to Shiah teachings.
In recent years, Putrajaya, which endorses the Sunni school of Islam, has stepped up its campaign against Shiah teachings and followers in Malaysia.
Shiah is Islam’s second-largest branch and practised by an estimated 15 per cent of the 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide, but is regarded as deviant by Malaysia, which strictly adheres to the Sunni teachings.
