Home ministry secretary-general Alwi Ibrahim said the order was issued under four government gazettes – PU(A)106, PU(A)107, PU(A)108 and PU(A)109 – dated April 25 under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (Act 301).

In a statement, he said three of the six publications contained confusing information which contradicted the teachings of Islam.

The titles of the publications are “Islam dan Teologi Pembebasan”, “The Road to Muhammad” and “Mutiara Sastera Ali: Edisi Surat & Aforisme”.

“The publication titled ‘Mengenal Allah Melalui Agama-Agama Purba: Gautama Buddha Seorang Nabi?’ was found to contradict the teachings and principles of Islam, and contained elements of liberalism which could confuse readers, especially Muslims,” he said.

Alwi said two other publications, “Confessions: A Secret Diary” and “Hidden Agendas”, contained extreme sexual and pornographic content.

“The ban order covers the printing, import, production, reproduction, publication, sale, issuance, circulation, distribution or possession of the publications.

“As such, any person who commits these acts for whatever purpose has committed an offence and if found guilty, can be sentenced to imprisonment of up to three years or fined up to RM20,000, or both, under Section 8(2) of Act 301,” he said.

He also urged the public to lodge a report, if they come across any such publication, to the ministry’s Publication and Quran Text Control Division at 03-88868047 or fax 03-88891682 or the ministry’s Integrated Public Complaints System at http://moha.spab.gov.my.