Cartoonist Zunar to launch new book on Najib’s wife
Satire cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, or Zunar, will launch a new book focusing on the Prime Minister’s wife, despite being locked in a legal battle with Putrajaya over two banned books and other titles investigated under the Sedition Act.
"ROS in Kangkong Land" is a collection of Zunar’s cartoons of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
The book will only be sold online as bookstores were under "huge pressure from the government," he said in a statement.
Zunar is under police remand until Friday for a tweet deemed seditious. He was detained on Tuesday for criticising the judiciary after it upheld Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy conviction.
He is being investigated under Section 4(1) (c) of the Sedition Act 1948.
"Why I choose her (Rosmah)? Because it is an open secret that she is more dominant and more powerful than the prime minister himself.
"Cartoon-wise, I am very impressed with her. She provides ideas for me and she is very cartoon-able… so much so, this book is specially dedicated to her.
"I cannot survive as a cartoonist if I depend on her husband alone," Zunar said in the statement that was issued through his wife Fazst Alin Adan today.
He added that he would present Rosmah with an autographed copy "to show my gratitude".
The book has more than 140 cartoons and covers issues like the Sedition Act and "shopping and golfing by the PM and wife".
Zunar appealed for support of his book, which is priced at RM25 and offered in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
"All of my books including RIKL will not be sold in any bookstore due to huge pressure from the government. Buying the book not only helps me financially, but also helps to spread the message," he said.
This will be Zunar's 17th work on politics in book form. He has seven other titles which are all banned by Putrajaya.
Two others, "Cartoon-O-Phobia" and "Conspiracy to Imprison Anwar", are being investigated under the Sedition Act.
He is also challenging Putrajaya for banning "1 Funny Malaysia" and "Perak Darul Kartun".
Police raided his office last month and confiscated 149 of his books while he was in London on a speaking tour.
He said more than 1,000 copies of several titles of his works were confiscated in three separate raids on his office.
"ROS in Kangkong Land" will be launched this Saturday at the Tasik Taman Jaya in Petaling Jaya at 10am.– February 12, 2015.
