G25 obtains leave to challenge book ban

0

KUALA LUMPUR: G25 (Group of 25) has successfully obtained leave for judicial review of the ban on a book titled ‘Breaking The Silence: Voices Of Moderation – Islam In A Constitutional Democracy’.

Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar who represented five applicants from the group said High Court Judge Datuk Wira Kamaluddin Md Said granted the leave yesterday.

He told reporters after the proceedings in chambers, that the respondents represented by senior federal counsel Suzana Atan and Shamsul Bolhassan did not object to the application.

He said the court fixed Jan 23 for case management.

The five comprising G25 spokesman Datuk Noor Farida Mohd Ariffin, 72; Datuk Zainuddeen Abdul Bahari, 74; Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kessim, 79; Datuk Latifah Osman Merican, 68; and Dr Asma Abdullah, 70, filed the application in October 2017, and named Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as respondent.

They are seeking a certiorari under Order 53, Rule 8 (2) of the Rules of Court 2012 to nullify the ban order signed by the respondent dated July 27, 2017.

The book, published in December 2015, was declared illegal by the Home Ministry on July 27, 2017. — Bernama