Faizal Musa, who has had seven of his books banned by the home ministry, said the Malaysian National Book Council’s lobbying for the title showed that the country had no shame.

“The UN special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Karima Bennoune had demanded that Malaysia un-ban the works by Zunar and I,” he said, referring to political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque.

“It is strange that Malaysia has this dream and ambition to be a World Book Capital, when they have banned seven of my books and many others,” he told FMT when contacted today.

Faizal, who is better known as Faisal Tehrani, said the authorities should start honouring books, the authors, the publishers and the artists before they chase after such lofty dreams.

“Books are not just books. They have cultural content and stories. By banning the books, you are not giving a chance to the readers to read and interpret them.

“Honour us. Give us our rights. Give readers a chance to read and interpret, and then you can pursue any ambition or dream you want,” he said.

He added that the government had a tendency to do one thing when overseas, but take a different approach when in the country.

Faisal’s books that are banned include “Sebongkah Batu di Kuala Berang”, “Karbala” and “Ingin Jadi Nasrallah”. The home ministry said these were influenced by Shia Islam, which Malaysia’s Islamic authorities condemn as a deviant expression of Islam.

“Aku ___ maka aku ada” was his latest work to be declared taboo by the authorities.

It was previously reported that Malaysia would lobby for Kuala Lumpur to become the Unesco World Book Capital in 2020, in efforts to boost the reading culture among the community.

Bernama reported Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) director-general Abdul Adzis Abas as saying that if the title was awarded by Unesco, it would have a big impact on the country, especially in the development of national tourism.