(Source: Google 2009)
The daily reprinted a collection of the cartoons on February 4, 2006 during the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy to illustrate a story on the topic titled "Cartoon No Big Impact Here".
Former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quoted in Bernama news that the permit of The Sarawak Press Sdn Bhd, the publisher of Sarawak Tribune, has been suspended immediately until further notice by invoking subsection 6(2) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Act 301.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Tribune's editorial chairman Idris Buang said the senior management of the newspaper has accepted the government's decision to suspend the daily until further notice. He was quoted in Bernama news that the suspension order issued by the Internal Security Ministry was received at his office in Kuching. He said the Sarawak Tribune will cease to operate from Feb 10 until such a time when the suspension is lifted.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said the Cabinet also felt that the action of the newspaper was a serious matter, especially in the light of Malaysia’s position as the chairman of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
“It is an embarrassing situation for us because Malaysia is holding the OIC chair, and it involves an Islamic matter,” he said (Zulfakar and McIntyre 2006).
According to The Commissioner Of Law Revision (2006 p. 9), “if the Minister is satisfied that any publication contains any article, caricature, photograph, report, notes, writing, sound, music, statement or any other thing which is in any manner prejudicial to or likely to be prejudicial to public order, morality, security, or which is likely to alarm public opinion, or which is or is likely to be contrary to any law or is otherwise prejudicial to or is likely to be prejudicial to public interest or national interest, he may in his absolute discretion by order published in the Gazette prohibit, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, the printing, importation, production, reproduction, publishing, sale, issue, circulation, distribution or possession of that publication and future publications of the publisher concerned.”
The main reason of the suspension was due to caricature which insulted Prophet Muhammad and it has offended the Muslims in Malaysia and all around the world. Government was afraid that readers would take it seriously as they believe everything they see and read on newspapers. Just and Carpenter’s 1987 study (Schriver 1997, p. 369) stated that readers rely on everything in their perceptual field the syntax and semantics of the prose and graphics to construct an idea of the meaning as quickly as possible.Similarly, books that contain false information on religious issues would be banned from the market.
According to Centre for Independent Journalism (2007), the latest ban was a total of 37 books on Islam because of "twisted facts" in the books. Earlier in January, 18 books also fell under the same fate. More than 50 books were banned officially in 2006 alone, while 14,400 titles were reportedly restricted entry at the custom checkpoints. The public are denied to access those books because the government feared that the books can potentially caused harm to the country.
References:
1.Centre of Independent Journalism 2007, Book banning: department open to dialogue, Malaysia, viewed 16 November 2009, <http://www.cijmalaysia.org/content/view/215/5/>
2.Commissioner of Law Revision, 2006, Prining Presses And Publications Act 1984 Incorporating all amendments up to 1 January 2006, Commissioner Of Law Revision, Malaysia.
3.Malaysian National News Agency 2006, Sarawak Tribune's Publication Permit Suspended, Malaysia, viewed 16 November 2009, <http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=179503>
4.Malaysian National News Agency 2006, Sarawak Tribune's Management Accepts Suspension Order, Malaysia, viewed 16 November 2009, http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/printable.php?id=179558
5.Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design, Wiley Computer Pub, New York.
6.Zulfakar, M & McIntyre, I 2006, Cabinet wants tough action against Sarawak Tribune, Malaysia, viewed 16 November 2009, <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.aspfile=/2006/2/9/nation/13341162&sec=nation&focus=1>
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