Malaysia bans book that likened Indonesian domestic worker to a ‘monkey’
- The government said US-based Malaysian author Boey Chee Ming’s When I was a Kid 3 contained material that was ‘likely to be prejudicial to morality’
- Boey apologised for the offensive material and said his portrayal of the helper in the book was misunderstood
Boey Chee Ming, a Malaysian artist now based in the United States, said he was shocked to learn that his book When I was a Kid 3 was banned by the government almost a decade after it was released in 2014. It was his third book in a series of graphic novels about his childhood in Malaysia.
The Home Ministry has said the book contained material that was “likely to be prejudicial to morality” and issued the ban on September 15, local media reported.
Indonesian non-governmental organisation Corong Rakyat staged a rally outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta in June to protest the book, which it said belittled Indonesian helpers, Malaysia’s national Bernama news agency reported. Home Ministry officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Boey said he believed the ban was triggered by a chapter in which his father likened their Indonesian domestic helper to a monkey because she could climb a tree swiftly to pluck coconuts. He described it as “unfortunate.”