This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 7, 2020 - January 13, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysia-China Business Council chief executive officer Dr Hew Kuan Yau, who is also known as “Superman”, obtained leave from the High Court here yesterday to challenge the government’s order to ban his controversial comic book entitled Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism.

Following this, the merits of Hew’s application will be heard in full by Justice Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya.

This was revealed by Hew’s lawyer Datuk J Shamesh to The Edge Financial Daily.

With this, Justice Mariana has fixed Jan 20 for case management.

Shamesh said the Attorney-General’s Chambers will be given the opportunity to file an affidavit to rebut Hew’s application to quash the book ban.

“We are also getting instructions from our client to file leave application to the Federal Court to challenge the constitutionality the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 to enforce the ban,” he added.

Hew had named the home minister, the home ministry, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the government as respondents in the application.

The home ministry was reported to have banned the book on Oct 23 last year, by issuing a prohibition gazette under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 on the grounds that its contents could be detrimental to public order.

The book was published in three languages — Chinese, English and Malay — in October. The English version is entitled Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism.

In his application, Hew, who is a former DAP leader, is seeking leave to commence proceedings for an order to quash the book ban.

He is also seeking an order to compel the home ministry to return to him all copies of the books that had been seized.

Further, Hew is seeking a declaration that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 is unconstitutional, and should be declared null and void.

In his application, he claimed that 2,000 copies of his comic book were seized nationwide by the ministry and he wanted them returned.

He also claimed that another 13 copies of the Chinese version at the Asia Comic Cultural Museum in Penang were seized in the enforcement of the ban.

Hew claimed that comics are meant to be light-hearted and entertainment, and the use of caricature is to deliver a simple message.

He also claimed that the book is based on research on historical facts and based on Malaysian academic books.