This was around a few months now with many bloggers resounding their dissatisfaction towards banning of certain books. Well the Sun has seemed to make the Internal Security Ministry to respond and this was part of it

“The Internal Security Ministry sees itself as the country’s “moral guardian” and will bar the entry of books and other publications deemed “offensive” or “not conducive” to Malaysian society….These include books by Kahlil Gibran, Salman Rushdie’s award-winning Midnight’s Children and Shalimar the Clown, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Memories of My Melancholy Whores, as well as classics such as Anthony Burgess’ The Malayan Trilogy and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart………….Some children’s books may also have offensive content and contravene conditions in the PPPA……..Also affected are children’s titles like Read-Aloud Children’s Classics, SpongeBob and Squarepants, The Wiggles, Poems and Prayers for Children, and Dora’s Fiesta Adventure ActivePoint Book Set…….

I wonder what could be so offensive in those children books especially when they have been around for so long internationally and some are also shown on TV! Then again the enforcers must have their brains in blue and have poor English that all they care are titles of books and not the contents and seem to imagine what could be the contents by the title – truly judging a book by its covers — that brings us to the next issue which is some books of the same title are allowed in softcover but confiscated in hardcover!! Why!
There is a psychiatric condition related to people who are morally wrong or perverts but justifies themselves by being on a censorship board and goes censoring and banning everything!— or maybe it is as simple as being morons!!

There then comes the third issue that some of this books can get past KLIA but not Johor customs! Excellent “transparency”!

Then maybe they will ban my blog if I would change the title to George’s Midnights!!

Strange, have you seen or read the local magazines – some are I am sure by votes even more offensive than Read-Aloud Children’s Classics and the ever famous Khalil Gibran’s writings which are used as text in many international universities and quated by many scholars!

Then again with internet and world without border, is all this banning of any use – which make me believe that those rule makers such as this are mentally ill. The ease of access to porn on internet and various other more offensive and destructable issues can never be a less important issues to the books that they ban and makes them look like fools catching the wind! Education and moral begins at home – and reaffirmed in schools! This is the only way!

And isn’t it an insult to all parents, that the government think so lowly of parents that they feel that parents do not know how to evaluate and assess a book for that they buy or borrow for the kids!! These book aren’t cheap!

Isn’t it an insult to the adults that indirectly the government is saying that we are incapable of thinking and making a judgement of good and bad?
Well, this kind of banning will make individuals of a nation numb and dumb!