Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) issued a statement banning 3 books in our country, namely ‘My Shadow Is Purple‘ by Scott Stuart, ‘Koleksi Puisi Masturbasi‘ by Amir Hamzah bin Akal Ali (Benz Ali), and ‘All That’s Left in the World‘ by Erik J. Brown.
This was done under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, which prohibits the act of printing, importation, reproduction, publication, sale, distribution, circulation, or possession of these books in Malaysia.
Any individual who goes against the ban may face up to three years in prison, a fine of up to RM20,000, or both.
One of the authors reacts to the ban
Following this, Scott Stuart, the author of one of the banned books, the children’s book ‘My Shadow is Purple‘, took to his TikTok account to share his response to KDN’s move and his next steps after the ban.
“So, the government of Malaysia just made owning my book a crime, punishable by up to 3 years in prison. Over the last few years, I’ve been seeing a massive increase in censoring and the banning of books like mine that celebrates inclusivity and acceptance,”
“From teachers being fired (for reading a similar book to her students) to (the books) being stripped from libraries and communities, and them being protested by extreme right-wing parties,” he said.
Scott’s book, ‘My Shadow is Purple‘, tells the story of a child seeing their father as ‘blue’ for masculine and their mother as ‘pink’ for feminine. However, the child sees themselves as ‘purple’, a mix of both genders, symbolising gender fluidity.
Though, rather than not doing anything about it, which he assumed was all he could do, Scott has decided to start an initiative to help more books like his to exist.
“So, I have established a literary prize to support picture book authors who write these kinds of stories, that break gender stereotypes, that center and celebrate marginalised identities and experiences, that are accepting, inclusive, transformative,”
“Kids need these kinds of books, teachers need them, parents need them.”
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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