• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
The Nut Graph

The Nut Graph

Making Sense of Politics & Pop Culture

  • Projects
    • MP Watch
    • Found in Conversation
  • Current Issues
    • 6 Words
    • Commentary
    • Features
    • Found in Quotation
    • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Found in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Pictures
    • Videos
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Vault
    • Found in Translation

PPPA affects business

By Zedeck Siew

January 20, 2009

GOMBAK, 20 Jan 2009: The Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) makes it difficult for book publishers to conduct their business and should be amended, the Malaysian Book Publishers Association (Mabopa) said.

Mabopa secretary Arief Hakim Sani said the PPPA was outdated and easily subjected to abuse.


Mabopa secretary Arief Hakim Sani
“I definitely think the PPPA needs amendment,” he told The Nut Graph in an interview. “Some of the wording in the PPPA makes it open to abuse.”

For example, he noted that Section 7 of the PPPA defines an undesirable publication as containing anything that is “in any manner prejudicial to or likely to be prejudicial” to public order, morality, security, and public or national interest.

This meant the law could be easily bent towards political aims, Arief said, because any publication could be penalised for being “against the government”.

Arief said this when referring to the steps publishers are taking to address book confiscation by Home Ministry officers.

In August 2008, Dr Farish A Noor’s From Majapahit to Putrajaya, published by Silverfish Books, was confiscated from leading bookstore Kinokuniya, on the grounds that it did not contain the publisher’s or printer’s terrestrial address.

Its contents are currently under study by Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim), even though the book had been on shelves for four years before it was confiscated.

Jakim has remained silent on its findings despite several queries by The Nut Graph.

As a result of the confiscation, Kinokuniya lost its entire stock of From Majapahit to Putrajaya and stopped selling the title pending a decision by the authorities.

Copies of Ann Wan Seng’s Rahsia Al Arqam, published by PTS Publications, have also been taken from bookstores around the country on four separate occasions, beginning May 2006.

However, the Home Ministry has not banned the title. Still, the seizures have hurt sales.

Arief, who is also PTS Publications co-founder, noted that in such instances, the authorities were acting within their power, but there could have been more negotiation and tact.

Arief said there was a need to clarify enforcement procedures to help protect book publishers and bookstores against arbitrary action.

He added that the government should also consider developments in the book publishing trade. Citing the example of export-oriented publishers, he said, “There are between 10 and 20 Malaysian publishers who cater to the worldwide market.”

Noting that foreign markets may have different requirements, Arief said, “If [these publishers] print according to their clients’ wishes, and those clients don’t want the book to contain the local publisher’s or printer’s name, [this would definitely violate] the PPPA.”

Mabopa, which represents the interests of 160 publishers nationwide, has been organising a series of seminars where ministry officials educate members about the PPPA

“If we engage the Home Ministry on a consistent basis, a lot of our suggestions will be considered,” Arief said, adding that the officials are receptive to criticisms.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related Stories

Filed Under: News Tagged With: book banning, confiscation, From Majapahit to Putrajaya, Home Ministry, jakim, kinokuniya, PPPA, Silverfish Books

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eric says

    January 20, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    Just like the ISA, the Emegency Ordinance and others, the PPPA is a legacy from the Brits which “nationalist” Umno found opportune to keep. Let’s shake off this neo-colonial mentality by removing all these acts which serve no purpose, other than protecting the government for undue reasons.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • Wave33 on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Adam on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Andre Lai on The Nut Graph stops publication

Recent News

  • The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Nasihat tentang sepupu yang mengganggu perasaan
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The Sunni-Shia split and the answer to Muslim unity
  • Why Malaysia needs the national unity bills
  • Challenging government in the digital age: Lessons from Kidex
  • Najib’s failure
  • Babi, anjing, pondan: Jijik orang Islam Malaysia
  • Kidex and the law – What the government’s not telling you
  • Beyond Dyana Sofya
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Does Malaysia need hate speech laws?

Tags

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Anwar Ibrahim Barisan Nasional BN Bukit Selambau by-election dap Deborah Loh Ding Jo-Ann Election Commission elections Found in Malaysia Found in Quotation Gan Pei Ling government high court Hishammuddin Hussein ISA islam Jacqueline Ann Surin Khairy Jamaluddin KW Mak Lim Guan Eng Malaysia MCA Menteri Besar MP Watch Muhyiddin Yassin muslim Najib Razak Pakatan Rakyat Parliament Parti Keadilan Rakyat pas Penang Perak PKR police politics prime minister Selangor Shanon Shah Umno Wong Chin Huat Zedeck Siew

Footer

  • About The Nut Graph
  • Who Are We?
  • Our Contributors
  • Past Contributors
  • Guest Contributors
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments & Columns
  • Copyright Policy
  • Web Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
The Nut Graph

© 2023 The Nut Graph