Book banning in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur’s Silverfish Books has encountered a new wave of book banning in Malaysia.
It was another routine stock replenishment order. Then came the shock: the distributor is unable to supply copies of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children because the book had been ‘restricted’ in Malaysia by the KDN.
Our initial reaction was to laugh out loud. Who are these people? Midnight’s Children, published in 1980, won the Booker in 1981 and won the Booker of Bookers in 1993. Every self-respecting reader in the country has not only read the book, but owns a special sentimental copy. Now, after 26 years, some barely literate little Napoleon – to borrow Pak Lah’s term – sitting behind a KDN desk in Johor Bahru has decided that the book is not suitable for Malaysians.
The company has compiled a list of restricted books which includes not only Salman Rushdie, but also Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Anthony Burgess and Alan Hollinghurst.
(via BookFinder.com)
0 comments Wednesday 01 Nov 2006 | Paul | Malaysia