The ministry said continuous surveillance and intelligence gathered found that publications containing communist elements and ideologies had begun to circulate more openly in the market.
“If the dissemination of such materials was previously limited and restricted, recent developments show a tendency to normalise and glorify that ideology, which clearly goes against national security interests.
“In this context, the ministry rejects claims that the enforcement action was aimed at restricting intellectual freedom or academic discourse.
“On the contrary, this is a necessary preventive measure to protect society from the spread of ideologies that could undermine public harmony and order,” it said in a statement.
The ministry also said the publisher of the books, the Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, or SIRD, is under investigation.
“This is to ensure compliance with legal requirements, including registration with the Companies Commission of Malaysia and the Registrar of Societies.”
Yesterday, independent publisher Gerakbudaya said two books entitled Memoir Shamsiah Fakeh: Dari Awas ke Rejimen Ke-10 and Komrad Asi (Rejimen 10): Dalam Denyut Nihilisme Sejarah had been banned by the home ministry.
Gerakbudaya said the memoir of Shamsiah, a former CPM leader, had been reprinted three times and was first published in 2004 by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, while the other book was published in 2022.
The publisher described the ban as a form of censorship and said it would challenge the matter in court.
Pakatan Harapan politicians have criticised the bans, including PKR’s Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung and DAP’s Bandar Utama assemblyman Jamaliah Jamaluddin, who is Shamsiah’s granddaughter.
Jamaliah said the memoir focussed more on her grandmother’s life journey and experiences, adding that it had not sparked any extremist movement all this time.
The Selangor executive councillor expressed disappointment with the home ministry’s “baseless” actions and called for the ban to be reviewed.
Separately, Lee pointed out the irony that the books were not banned by the previous Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional-led administrations but by the PH-led government.
He added that the late Syed Husin Ali, a founding member of PKR, would have been critical of the home ministry banning books despite being led by a PKR leader.
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is from PKR and is also the PH secretary-general.