But despite a ban on nine of his comic books mocking government leaders, several sedition charges and a travel ban, he is still laughing.
Last night, launching yet another cartoon collection of his comic take on politics, Zunar invited others to laugh along with him and explained why.
He said this was “the most effective tool” when confronted with news of political scandals, a theme he has closely dealt with in his works.
And come the next election, there is no reason not to laugh, he said.
“For those of you who don’t know what to do prior to the coming general election, let me tell you: laugh.
“No government anywhere in the world can take people laughing at it. It is an embarrassment,” he said at the launch of his book, “Ketawa Pink Pink”, at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night.
But Zunar, whose real name is Zulkiflee SM Anwarul Haque, also warned people to “laugh with caution”.
“Anything can happen. For all you know, the government will table a Laughing Act 2018. From then on, you will need to apply for a permit to laugh.”
With a history of his books being banned, Zunar had trouble getting printers to produce “Ketawa Pink Pink”. In the past, three printing companies which printed his books had been raided.
“It has come to a point where I have to cover the name of the printer. If you want to know who printed the book, you can enter the ‘scratch and win’ contest to see the printer’s name beneath the name,” he quipped.
The government has so far banned nine of Zunar’s works, including three last year.
The cartoonist was also banned from flying to Singapore to attend a forum there in October 2016.
Last November, he failed in his attempt to have his travel ban revoked by the High Court. He is now attempting to challenge the validity of the immigration law in the Federal Court.