Petaling Jaya MCA Youth chief Andy Teoh criticised the ministry’s ban on “Memoir Shamsiah Fakeh: Dari Awas ke Rejimen Ke-10”, written by the late Shamsiah Fakeh.

In a statement, Teoh said the decision to ban Shamsiah’s book and “Komrad ASI (Rejimen 10): Dalam Denyut Nihilisme Sejarah”, written by Aziz Suriani, underscored Pakatan Harapan’s hypocrisy.

He said that before coming to power, PH leaders would champion democratic freedoms, “but today, they are suppressing publications that have long been available in the public domain”.

“If even a book written by the grandmother of a sitting state executive councillor from the ruling coalition can be banned so easily, what assurance is there for ordinary Malaysians?

“This sends a worrying message that freedom of expression under the current government is becoming increasingly fragile.”

Teoh supported Jamaliah’s call for the ministry to rescind the ban, saying their support for the Bandar Utama assemblyman was not about politics, but about defending freedom of expression.

“MCA Youth Petaling Jaya is prepared to stand together with Jamaliah on this issue because defending freedom of speech must rise above political divisions,” he said.

It was reported last week that the home ministry had banned the two books on grounds they contained communist elements and ideologies.

The ministry also said the publisher of the books, the Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, or SIRD, was under investigation.

PH politicians have since criticised the ban, including PKR’s Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, and Jamaliah, who expressed disappointment with the ministry’s “baseless” action and called for the ban to be reviewed.

Lee pointed out the irony that the books were not banned by the previous Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional-led administrations.