Award-winning local cartoonist Zunar filed a judicial review challenge at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today to set aside the ban on his book “Sapuman: Man of Steal,” which was enforced in October last year.

Zunar, the pen name of Zulkiflee SM Anwarul Haque, named the home minister and the government as respondents in the judicial review application, the filing of which was confirmed by his lawyer, Eric Paulsen.

Besides attempting to set aside the ban, Zunar is also seeking a declaration that the ban order is declared void and illegal, on the grounds that it is ultra vires of Section 7 of the Publication and Printing Presses Act 1984 (PPPA), violates Articles 5 (personal liberty), 8 (equality) and 10 (1)(a) (freedom of expression) of the Federal Constitution.

The cartoonist, who is also facing a travel ban, is also seeking general and special damages.

According to the cartoonist’s supporting affidavit, “Sapuman: Man of Steal” – a collection of his serialised cartoons of the country’s political scene – was published in 2015, and launched at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Sept 13 that year.

The affidavit also states that the Home Ministry had issued the banning order since the book was a threat to public order. However, Zunar claimed that he never received any official letters from the ministry about the ban, only learning of it through the media.

Moreover, he stated that the book had been on the market for two years before the ban took effect, adding that he was surprised when the ban was announced, since there was no evidence that the book had indeed caused public unrest in the two years since its publication.

As a result, he added, he was not given a chance to appeal the ban, which he believes violates the principles of legitimate expectation of a person and those of natural justice.

The banning of the book, which was announced by Home Ministry chief secretary Alwi Ibrahim, has also affected his employment opportunities as a cartoonist, the affidavit stated, and is a violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights.

The cartoonist also noted that since there is no justification for the ban, authorities acted mala fide in imposing it, and that the courts should therefore declare it null and void.