Ban on horror books which cause nightmares
BY AUDREY EDWARDSPETALING JAYA: Horror books which have educational value and those which “do not give children nightmares” will not be barred from being imported and published.
This means that books by horror guru Stephen King and Anne Rice as well as children’s favourites such as the Goosebumps series and Harry Potter would not be affected by the decision.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said, however, applications to import and publish reading materials which “entertain by frightening” would be vetted on a case-by-case basis at the ministry’s discretion.
“Stephen King books are for adults. It is okay because his stories have been around for a long time.
“It is those local superstition stories – like the man cycling home and meets a beautiful ghost from the graveyard – which have no educational value,” he said, clarifying the government’s decision to no longer approve applications to import and publish materials “calculated to entertain by frightening.”
He had said on Wednesday that such books fell within the definition of mystery, mysticism, fantasy (khayalan), occultism (khurafat) and superstition (tahyul).
The ministry would not have any guidelines but those who were working on such works could drop by at its Publication Department for guidance, Chor said yesterday.
“We have come across many applications where they want to import or publish a series of articles on things like haunted houses or superstitious stories. When you read them, you can feel goosebumps,” he added.
On the children book series like Goosebumps and Harry Potter, Chor said such publications were allowed as they did not give children nightmares.
Malaysian Book Exporters and Importers Association president Kevin Sugumaran said importers needed guidelines on the matter.
“It is very vague. There are books which have chapters dealing in ghostly areas. Does a person have to check every book that is brought in?
“For imported materials, if there are guidelines then we could send them to publishers overseas,” he said.
He said that the association’s executive council would meet next week to discuss the matter.
Malaysian Book Publishers Association president Datuk Ng Tieh Chuan said the association would contact the ministry for further details.
“We need more clarification. We want to know what he (Chor) means by ghostly tales. And if he is referring to the local stuff, then it is a completely new issue and problem,” he added.
In Penang, NG SU-ANN reports that schools would be instructed to remove “unhealthy” books with “frightening” elements from their library shelves.
State education director Datuk Dawa Abdullah said: “Students also should not bring such books to school as they are deemed to jeopardise one’s mental being.”
“I will direct teachers to monitor the storybooks which the students bring,” he said at the prize presentation ceremony of Telekom Malaysia’s Erti Merdeka contest yesterday.
On another matter, Dawa said he has applied for a special allocation of RM800,000 from the Education Ministry to buy textbooks and replace the infrastructure in schools which were affected by the recent floods involving more than 4,000 students in Seberang Prai.
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