SHAH ALAM, July 17 — The Home Ministry (KDN) has revoked prohibition orders on five books previously banned under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, allowing the titles to be legally printed, published, distributed, sold and owned once again.
The revocations were made by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail through five federal government gazettes published on July 16 and 17.
According to the gazettes, the home minister exercised his powers under Subsection 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 to revoke the prohibition orders that had previously barred the printing, importation, publication, sale, distribution and possession of the publications.
The books involved are:
Islam Tanpa Keekstreman: Berhujah Untuk Kebebasan and its English-language version, Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty, by Mustafa Akyol, published by Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF)
Komrad Asi (Rejimen 10): Dalam Denyut Nihilisme Sejarah, published by Gerakbudaya
Sigandi, by M. Navin, published by Fixi
Memoir Shamsiah Fakeh: Dari AWAS Ke Rejimen Ke-10, and
Mao Zedong: China Dalam Dunia Abad ke-20, published by Inisiatif Buku Darul Ehsan (IBDE).
The revocation orders for Mustafa Akyol’s two books were signed on April 30, 2026, while the remaining four titles were removed from the banned list through orders issued on July 1, 2026.
With the gazetting of the revocation orders, all five titles are no longer subject to prohibition under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
Previously, the banning of several of the books drew criticism from PEN Malaysia, politicians, publishers and writers, who questioned the transparency of the process and its implications for intellectual freedom.
Following the backlash, KDN held engagement sessions with the Malaysian Book Publishers Association (MABOPA) and pledged to review banned publications, halt seizure operations and improve appeal and publication assessment mechanisms.
