Both parties filed seperate applications for a judicial review on the ban with the High Court here this afternoon.
The two books, '1 Funny Malaysia' and 'Perak Darul Kartun' were published in November 2009.
They were slapped with a ban by the Home Ministry on June 17 under Section 7 of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
The ministry ruled that the books were “prejudicial to public order” but Malaysiakini, which published one of the books, called it an “abuse of power” and an attempt to “stifle legitimate criticism” of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his administration.
“It is our view that such a ban is unnecessary in a democratic society like Malaysia. We are at a loss to understand how these cartoons... (about) Malaysian politics and politicians can pose a threat to public order,” said the news portal in a press statement.
Zulkifli, popularly known as Zunar, is a regular contributor to Malaysiakini's Cartoonkini segment.
Malaysiakini stated that the Home Ministry provided no evidence regarding its decision to ban the books. It also mentioned that it was not given an opportunity to be heard prior to the ban.
“1 Funny Malaysia” was published by Malaysiakini whereas Perak Darul Kartun was published by Zunar's company, Sepakat Efektif Sdn Bhd.
Because of this, Malaysiakini and Zunar were advised to file separate applications for judicial review.
The two are represented by lawyers Fahri Azzat, Edmund Bon, K Shanmuga, Amer Hamzah Arshad, Edward Saw and Aston Paiva.
The review would also seek for damages on losses incurred by the non-sale of the books.
