KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — The government has said that a book on Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew is “still being studied” despite federal Islamic authorities earlier confirming that it has been placed on a list of haram books.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said the book — “Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going” — was being “examined”.
“It is under the Home Ministry... it is not haram,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
When told that the book was one of 15 listed by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) as haram, the senator replied that “this just means it is being examined by the censorship committee.”
Jakim director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha also responded to a query on why the book was declared haram by saying it had breached guidelines set by his department.
“The book is still in the process of being studied by Jakim. A study is done on a book by the censorship committee chaired by Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria if it breaches guidelines set by Jakim,” he said in a text message sent to The Malaysian Insider.
Jakim’s planning and research division confirmed earlier the decision to list “Hard Truths” as haram was made when its committee on the censorship of publications with Islamic elements met in October — nine months after the book hit the shelves in Malaysia.
Since the report was published by The Malaysian Insider yesterday afternoon, Jakim has come under fire from Internet users for being restrictive and extreme.
According to procedure, the list of books declared haram is sent to the Home Ministry for further action but it is unclear if the ministry has followed suit and banned the books.
read more at TheMalaysianInsider.com
