Court upholds Malaysia’s ban on book about 2001 racial clash, concerned it could be disruptive

Malaysia court upholds ban on book on racial clash

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A court upheld Malaysia’s ban on a book about 2001 racial clashes, ruling Friday that its publication could upset ethnic sensitivities already strained by recent attacks on places of worship.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the Home Ministry was correct to issue the ban three years ago on “March 8,” written by Malaysian author K. Arumugam, which recounts clashes between ethnic Malay Muslims and ethnic Indians. The strife killed six people on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2001.

Nearly two-thirds of Malaysia’s 28 million people are Malays. The government carefully manages ethnic relations between Malays and the large Chinese and Indian minorities, while promoting the country as a model of racial harmony.

High Court Judge Mohamad Ariff Mohamad Yusof said the book ban was justified “based on public order grounds,” according to Edmund Bon, a lawyer representing Arumugam, who sued to overturn the ban.

The lawyer said the judge did not elaborate on his misgivings about the book. “March 8″ is based on eyewitness accounts and academic research. Some 3,000 copies were sold within six months of its publication before it was banned in late 2006, Bon said.

The verdict sends a wrong message “that Malaysian society is still incapable of discussing important issues of race and religion deemed explosive,” Bon said Friday, adding that his team had not decided whether to appeal the decision.

The Home Ministry regularly reviews books and has banned dozens in the past few years, often because they contained too much sexual content or were deemed to misrepresent Islam, Malaysia’s official religion.

Officials blamed the violence in 2001 on various factors, including criminal gangs and frustration caused by poverty, but some residents have said it was also triggered by racially related arguments.

It was the most deadly racial clash since 1969, when riots involving Malays and Chinese took at least 200 lives.

Last month, firebomb attacks and vandalism targeted 11 churches, a Sikh temple, three mosques and two Muslim prayer rooms. The attacks — which mostly caused minor damage and have since subsided — initially hit churches after some Muslims were upset over a court ruling that allowed Christians to use the word “Allah” to refer to God in the Malay language.