Outrage over 'Pirate Ambiga' comic book

A comic book with almost all the attack lines in the political play book aimed at Pakatan Rakyat and electoral reform group, Bersih, has got PAS Youth all hot under the collar.

The first page of the caricature depicts Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan (below) wielding a scimitar with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and his deputy Mohamad Sabu as well as PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim as followers, all clad in pirate attire.















The words read: "Pirates of Kuala Lumpur, robbers of the royal colour" in a sly dig at Bersih's trademark colour of yellow.

"We condemn this uncivilised move, it is uncalled for and is a form of defamation.... If you disagree with Pakatan Rakyat, we can debate or hold dialogues, there is no need for such insulting caricature," said PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hasan at a PAS headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Other caricatures were less kind, with one showing Anwar Ibrahim in a compromising position in reference to the opposition leader's sodomy case.

Malaysiakini was not able to obtain a photograph of the particular page as it was removed on the grounds that it was deemed too indecent for publication.

"We do not know who is responsible for disseminating such material but it came with an unfolded CD cover bearing the Umno logo stating that it came from the party's information division," he said.

The collection of caricature was loosely bound together without any page numbers in what appeared to be a mock-up copy of around 50 pages.

'Mass publication next'

Nasrudin said the material which was posted to a PAS exco in Selangor could be a draft before  full publication and  could have been sent by an informant.
The caricature also poked fun at PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's statement that voters would  be blessed with divine rewards for favouring PAS, showing conducting a 'pardoning ceremony' for fellow Pakatan leaders.

Others also showed DAP leaders replacing the Jalur Gemilang with the Singapore flag.

"The home ministry must monitor such publications to ensure that the culture of slander does not become worse," said Nasrudin.

Yesterday, a comic book promoting 1Malaysia courted controversy when it was found to contain xenophobic overtures.

The Malay Mail had reported that it depicted Malaysians united against immigrants with words such as 'Mr Charcoal' to describe Africans.

The Working Group on National Ratification of International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) has called for a ban on that book.