Bloggers against book banning

Initially, I heard about this ‘Bloggers against book banning’ from Midnite Lily’s and a few other bookworms bloggers but did not give much attention to it because I thought they probably read books too intellectual for my level. However, I took another look and found out that some of the books banned by our local moral/religious police are actually children’s books and one breastfeeding book.

I was like, WTF?, they banned these children books too? (Highlighted in large letterings.) Do they think we live on trees or what? In this age of internet, there is so much smut, filth and p0rn out there. The Government has not been able to curb the easy access to cheap p0rn DVDs sold at pasar malam. And yet, they think that banning some of these books will solve any problem. Duh!

Though I do not have access to the books, I am pretty sure some of them are Christian books for children like the ‘Poems & Prayers for Children’. What is this? Curbing the spread of Christianity?

Are they stereotyping that SpongeBob and Wiggles? You know…gayness :P? Hence, not suitable for our children? What about Astro? Why not ban some of these cartoons as well? Or to make it safe, why not cut us off from the world and shroud us in veils?

It is time the authorities (gee, I am not sure what is KND) wake up and realise that if we are literate enough to buy these books, we are educated enough to judge with our brains. It is only when people shy away from learning, reading and absorbing more knowledge that they turned into dumb people who are easily misled.

As the owner of a parenting forum promoting breastfeeding, I know that many of our local mothers are deprived off a lot of reference books. They cannot get their hands on breastfeeding books because you know why? These authorities think that a mother nursing her baby is not meant to be shown. Only perverted mind see things that way.

My heart grieves. These moral police have denied us and our children the rights to read and learn. So, join in and spread the word. A group of bloggers have started a blog –Manuscript Don’t Burn. Pick up a banner from them and put it on your blog. Tell the authorities that we have the maturity to judge. Thank you very much.
And yeah, on a sidenote, why don’t someone take some action against those locally printed, cheap, almost-p0rn Malay books that encourage shirik, seks rambang and other perverted topics? Where the priority?

(below list is taken from Bibiobibuli’s blog)

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Books Restricted by KND Johor Bahru – List 1

ISBN
1 1840282509 Well Woman’s Sourcebook (Hardcover)
2 9812320822 Beauty of Yixing Teapots (Hardcover)
3 1903816378 The Heart of Tantric Sex (Paperback)
4 9813056223 The missing page (Paperback)
5 9813056703 No Money, No Honey! A Candid Look at Sex-for-Sale in Singapore
6 9813056096 The SPG Rides Again
7 0375756469 Women (Paperback)
8 0811845737 Fashion Illustration Next (Paperback)
9 981305655x “Ransom” by Douglas Chua
10 0312873077 Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time (Hardcover)) – Robert Jordan
11 1853755605 Things a Woman Should Know About Seduction (Paperback)
12 9813056606 Revenge of the Sarong Party Girl by Jim Aitchison
13 0099648814 The Private Life of Chairman Mao (Paperback)
14 0521609763 Company to Company Teacher’s Book (Paperback)
15 0785378103 Poems & Prayers for Children (Hardcover)
16 0785368760 Read-Aloud Children’s Classics
17 1840189096 1001 Nights Without Sex: The Curse of the Single Girl (Paperback)
18 1843401703 Composition (The Photographer’s Guide To…) (Paperback)
19 1840725222 Seduce: 100 Tips to Arouse (Hardcover)
20 0749325003 Taking Chances (Paperback)
21 1844425762 “Vogue” Make-up (Paperback)
22 1844422968 Sexual Intelligence (Hardcover)
23 0099591111 Filth (Paperback) – Irwing Welsh
24 1850436665 Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror (Paperback)
25 0716757230 Practice of Business Statistics (Hardcover)
26 0099273675 A History of God (Paperback)
27 0304357278 E-tales: The Best (and Worst) of Internet Humour (Hardcover)
28 1844422968 Sexual Intelligence (Hardcover)
29 9813056363 The Official Guide to the Sarong Party Girl
30 0224077643 Memories of My Melancholy Whores (Hardcover)
31 1412735467 Sea Sale: SpongeBob Squarepants
32 1412733820 Counting Adventures Sound Activity Book, by Disney
33 1412731755 Dora’s Fiesta Adventure ActivePoint Book Set! [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)
34 1412735297 MUSIC FOR SLEEPY BABIES
35 1412731747 Count On Me (Spongebob Square Pants)
36 1412735610 The Wiggles Shop Wiggly Jukebox

37 0719566762 Mao: A Life
38 0572028806 Anatomy for the Artist: They Dynamics of Human Form (Paperback)
39 009189753X Feel: Robbie Williams (Hardcover)
40 0744586828 Bits, Boobs and Blobs (Paperback)
41 0679463356 Shalimar the Clown (Hardcover)
42 0099283360 Atomised (Paperback)
43 0224060066 Clubland (Paperback)
44 0091795346 The Dirty Girls Social Club (Paperback)
45 0099437880 Platform (Paperback)
46 0749932155 Carolina Moon (Paperback)
47 1844541320 Being Jordan (Paperback)
48 0521539064 An Introduction to Islam (Introduction to Religion) (Paperback)
49 1853755540 Sex Lives of the Famous Gays (Paperback)
50 1844425703 The Dirty Girl’s Joke Book 2: Provocative Puns and Laugh-a-minute Gags: Bk.2 (Paperback)
51 0285635549 10 Commandments of Pleasure: Erotic Keys to a Healthy Sexual Life (Paperback)
52 1582380570 How to Talk to Your Child About Sex: It’s Best to Start Early, But It’s Never Too Late : a Step-by-Step Guide for Every Age (Paperback)
53 1844425991 “FHM” True Stories 2 (Paperback)
54 1841612146 Men … the Insufferable Sex (Paperback)
55 0091878438 The New Book of Massage (Paperback)
56 0330411500 Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood (Paperback)
57 0752845985 Lip Kisses (Paperback)
58 0749931671 Lip Service (Paperback)
59 0091880688 Little Book of the Kama Sutra (Paperback)
60 0099648814 The Private Life of Chairman Mao (Paperback)
61 1400054788 The Probability of God: A Simple Calculation That Proves the Ultimate Truth (Paperback)
62 0521425387 Life on Earth: And Other Pieces (New Cambridge English Course) (Paperback)
63 1853755540 Sex Lives of the Famous Gays (Paperback)
64 0091815290 Mars and Venus in the Bedroom: A Guide to Lasting Romance and Passion (Paperback)
65 0744586836 Snogs, Sex and Soulmates (Paperback)
66 0749395923 The Malayan Trilogy: “Time for a Tiger”, “Enemy in the Blanket”, “Beds in the East” (Vintage Classics) (Paperback)
67 1896597777 Scrapbook (Paperback)
68 0969670117 Playboy (Paperback)
69 0340752114 Sex Etiquette (Paperback)
70 0969670141 The Best of “Drawn and Quarterly” (Paperback)
71 1896597440 The Poor Bastard (Paperback)
72 189659770X It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken: A Picture Novella (Paperback)
73 1896597416 Vernacular Drawings (Hardcover)
74 1896597831 My New York Diary (Paperback)
75 189659784X Clyde Fans: Bk.1 (Hardcover)
76 071532067X Bra: A Thousand Years of Style, Support and Seduction (Hardcover)
77 0099429780 Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language (Paperback)
78 0679463348 Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992-2002 (Hardcover)
79 1844424065 “Vogue” Beauty (Paperback)
80 1843308940 Sex,Lies and Stereotypes: Challenging Views of Women, Men, and Relationships (Paperback)
81 0375701958 Breastfeeding Your Baby: Revised Edition (Paperback)
82 1846091586 Addicted to Love: The Kate Moss Story (Paperback)
83 0812577566 Knife of Dreams (Wheel of Time (Paperback)) (Mass Market Paperback)
84 0761535810 Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War On America (Paperback)
85 0330433059 Dining with Terrorists (Paperback)
86 0375756981 The Vagina Monologues (Paperback)
87 0812976533 Midnight’s Children (Paperback)
88 0805053115 The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey (Paperback)
89 1857152174 Midnight’s Children (Everyman’s Library Classics) (Hardcover)
90 0099421860 Fury (Paperback)
91 0224061593 Fury (Hardcover)
92 0099443384 Fury (Paperback)
93 0679783504 Fury (Modern Library) (Paperback)
94 0375759603 Fury. (Paperback)
95 0312422784 The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey (Paperback)
96 0812969030 Midnight’s Children (Modern Library (Paperback)) (Paperback)
97 0099578611 Shame (Paperback)
98 0312270933 Shame (Paperback)
99 0099421879 Step Across This Line (Paperback)
100 0333490207 Salman Rushdie and the Third World: Myths of the Nation (Hardcover)
101 0224061615 Shalimar the Clown (Hardcover)
102 0224061607 Step Across This Line: Collected Non-fiction 1992-2002 (Hardcover)
103 0679783490 Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992-2002 (Modern Library (Paperback)) (Paperback)
104 0099578514 Midnight’s Children (Paperback)
105 0099268132 The Swimming-pool Library (Paperback)
106 1844421791 The Best Sex Positions Ever (Hardcover)
107 1843171961 Sex in Every City: How to Talk Dirty in Every Language (Paperback)
108 9812040978 Bali Style (Hardcover)
109 0393061221 Making Globalization Work (Hardcover

12 thoughts on “Bloggers against book banning

  1. Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood oso wan to ban ah? how come Star Movie got the show? MUSIC FOR SLEEPY BABIES? Practice of Business Statistics? Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War On America? Salman Rushdie and the Third World: Myths of the Nation? Making Globalization Work? An Introduction to Islam?????? WTF??? I would love to even touch a book by the controversial Rushdie as I never even seen any here, maybe I did but not much!

    MEMANG BODOH if want to ban books instead of pirated dvd/vcd. How to become masyarakat celik? summore not even the whole population reads religiously! ask them try compare people who own astro and own/have read at least 100 books/novels!! ini macam mau jadi negara maju/wawasan 2020?

  2. I bet they are using some simple draconian keywords to search for the book. So anything touching religious, sex, woman rights(yeah, you bet it), swim suit, human rights, free thinking/exercise will risk being ban. And don’t bother to argue with them, because they NEVER read the contents.

    So if those book use “difficult” English title such as “copulate”, then I can bet RM0.20 with you, it will go pass the censorship board.

  3. Huh???!!! It does not compute! It does not compute! I’ve got Disney’s Counting Adventures. Its an excellent interactive book with lovely nursery rhymes music and teaches the child to count. I really cannot understand why anyone would want to ban a wonderful book like this one, the other children’s books or the breastfeeding book. What criteria do they use to ban the books? Hmm lets see, maybe the little mermaid looks too sexy or Mowli the jungle boy is half naked (dressed only in his red underpants) or theres too many dalmations running around the book.

  4. Isn’t “the Vagina Monologues” also a play presented by the Actor’s Studio?

    Another book I found out banned is “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran.

    Atcherly, I wonder why they are worried, the majority of Malaysians don’t read anyway… baca suratkhabar pun kira nasib baik (read newspaper oso count as lucky..)

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