Malaysia bans ghostly tales
Date 20/11/2003 | Topic: Media
| Malaysia, which strictly censors foreign movies and books, has decided to ban tomes with "ghostly" tales and those touching on the supernatural, reports said.
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Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung was quoted by The Star as saying the Government would no longer approve permits to import and publish reading material containing elements "calculated to entertain by frightening".
"These include books within the categories of mystery, mysticism, fantasy, occultism and superstition," Mr Chor said.
"These materials will create an unhealthy picture in the minds of the readers and influence them by such far-fetched ghostly stories," he said.
However, titles such as the popular Harry Potter series would not be affected as they were deemed to be "benign", he said.
The ruling is only for new applications and Mr Chor said those who already have permits would be allowed to import and publish such materials until the expiry of their licences.
From http://www.abc.net.au
Thursday, November 6, 2003.
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