Cartoon-O-Phobia: The police is to be held responsible for damaging my work of art

The court has instructed the PDRM to return my comic books and the original drawing which has been held in police custody for over five years. More than 66 copies of Cartoon-O-Phobia and the original collage, which depicted the PM and his wife, were confiscated by the police, when they raided my office and detained me under The Sedition Act, on 24th September 2010.

The drawing is unique, because the hair on the PM’s wife’s head, had been made with real hair, collected from barber shops and glued onto the image. On July 2012, the Kuala Lumpur High Court instructed the police to return the books and the drawing, in a decision which was later upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Accompanied by lawyer, Michelle Yesudas, I received both items from ASP Baloo Muniappan, from Salak Tinggi Police Station, on Friday 20th of March. I am satisfied with the condition of the Cartoon-O-Phobia books, but I am disappointed and outraged by the condition of the collage.

The drawing has been folded, and badly damaged, thus causing the hair in the image, to come unstuck.
I would like to make it clear that this is an original piece of artwork and should have been handled, and treated with utmost care and respect.

The police is to be held responsible for damaging my work of art. I will not tolerate this and will instruct my lawyer to take the necessary legal action for the mistreatment of my original cartoon drawing.

Zunar
Political Cartoonist
23 March 2015

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Cartoon-O-Phobia: Polis bertanggungjawab rosakkan lukisan kartun saya

PDRM, atas arahan mahkamah telah memulangkan buku kartun dan lukisan asli kolaj saya yang telah dirampas dan disimpan selama lebih lima tahun. Sebanyak 66 naskah komik Cartoon-O-Phobia dan lukisan asli menggambarkan PM dan isteri telah dirampas bersama ketika polis menyerbu penjabat saya dan menangkap saya di bawah Akta Hasutan pada 24 September 2010. Lukisan ini adalah unik kerana rambut isteri PM dibuat dengan rambut betul yang dikutip dari kedai-kedai gunting dan digam ke atas imej dalam lukisan tersebut.

Pada Julai 2012, Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur mengarahkan pihak polis memulangkan kepada saya kesemua komik Cartoon-O-Phobia dan lukisan yang dirampas, keputusan yang kemudiannya disokong oleh Mahkamah Rayuan.

Ditemani oleh peguam Michelle Yesudas, saya menerima kedua-dua bahan karya tersebut daripada ASP Baloo Muniappan di Balai Polis Salak Tinggi pada hari Jumaat 20 Mac yang lalu. Untuk Cartoon-O-Phobia, saya berpuas hati memandangkan buku-buku tersebut masih dalam keadaan baik.

Tetapi untuk lukisan, saya terima dengan bantahan keras. Ini kerana lukisan tersebut telah dilipat dan menyebabkan ia rosak teruk. Manakala ‘rambut Rosmah’ telah berguguran dengan banyak. Saya ingin menegaskan di sini bahawa lukisan tersebut adalah asli dan dengan itu sewajarnya dikendali dan urus dengan kehormatan. Memandangkan ianya di bawah jagaan polis, mereka harus bertanggung jawab kerana merosakkannya.

Saya tidak akan bertolak ansur dalam hal ini. Saya telah mengarahkan peguam untuk mengambil langkah perundangan yang perlu terhadap pihak polis kerana gagal menjaga keaslian lukisan saya.

Zunar
Kartunis Politik
23 Mac 2015

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REFERENCE:

THE BACKGROUND

Feb 28 2005, more than 20 policemen led by ASP Ramasamy from raided my launching event in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur and treaten to detain me and confiscate my book ROS in Kangkong Land if I proceed with the launching. I had to cancel the program.

Feb 14 2015, Hundreds of the books, ROS in Kangkong Land were confiscated by the police from the printer’s lorry en-route to the launching venue.

Feb 10, 2015, I was detained and locked up under the Sedition Act. I was accused to have tweeted seditious comments in relation to the Federal Court’s decision which upheld the conviction of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy, the second time it has been levied against me.

The police opened up two separate investigations on me under the Sedition Act. One case is on the tweet criticising Mr Anwar’s sentence under the D5 Unit (Classified Crime) based at the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters. Another is on my cartoon books ‘Pirates of The Carry-BN’ and ‘Conspiracy to Imprison Anwar’.

a) 28 Jan 2015: There was a raid on my office while I was on a speaking tour stop in London. More than 150 books were confiscated. Laws used: Printing Presses and Publications Act, Sedition Act, Penal Code.

b) 6 Nov 2014: Three of my assistants were arrested and taken to the police station for selling my latest cartoon books. Law used: Sedition Act.

c) 16 Nov 2014: The webmaster, who manages my website and online bookstore, was called in by the police for quetioning. Law used: Sedition Act.

d) 18 Nov 2014: The police have asked the online payment gateway that handles my book transactions to disclose the list of customers who have purchased my books through my official website www.zunar.my. The company was given no choice but to disclose it.
Law used: Sedition Act.

e) 20 Nov 2014: I was brought in for questioning to the Dang Wangi Police Station in Kuala Lumpur under their ‘Classified Crime Section’ involving three different laws.
Laws used: Printing Presses and Publications Act, the Sedition Act, Penal Code.

f) 24 Sept 2010: I was detained and locked up for two days after the publication of my book ‘Cartoon-O-Phobia’. Law used: Sedition Act.

g) July 2010: Five of my books – ‘Perak Darul Kartun’; ‘1 Funny Malaysia’,;‘Isu Dalam Kartun’ Vol.1, 2, and 3 – were banned by the Home Minister on the grounds that the contents are “detrimental to public order.” Law used: Printing Presses and Publications Act

h) Sept 2009: My office was raided by the authorities. Five hundred (500) copies of my book titled ’Gedung Kartun’ were confiscated.
Law used: Printing Presses and Publications Act

i) Threats against printers
Date: Three companies which printed my books were raided. They were warned to not print my books in the future or their licence will be revoked. As a result, no printer dares to print my book. I have resorted to redacting the name of the printer to protect them. This is against the law, but I have no choice. The law in Malaysia requires both names of printing company and publisher on all publications.
Laws used: Printing Presses and Publications Act, Sedition Act.
News report:

j) Assault on vendors/book stores
Date: Bookstores’ premises around the country were raided by authority and they were warned to not sell my books in the future or thier licence will be
revoked. Law used: Printing Presses and Publications Act, Sedition Act
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LATAR BELAKANG

Pada 28 Januari lepas, pejabat Zunar diserbu ketika beliau mengadakan pameran dan program di London. Dalam serbuan itu, pihak polis turut merampas 150 buku-buku kartun beliau.

Ini adalah serbuan kali ketiga oleh pihak berkuasa di pejabat beliau – kali pertama pada Ogos 2009 dan seterusnya pada September 2010 di mana lebih 500 buku komik “Gedung Kartun” dan “Cartoon-O-Phobia” dirampas.

Pihak berkuasa juga turut menyerbu pekedai, pengilang dan penerbit dan mereka diberi amaran bahawa lesen perniagaan mereka akan ditarik balik sekiranya terus mencetak dan menjual buku Zunar.

* Pada 6 November 2014, tiga pembantu Zunar telah ditangkap dan disiasat kerana menjual buku kartun bertajuk “Konspirasi Memenjarakan Anwar” dan “Pirate of the Carry-BN “. Sebanyak 44 buah buku turut dirampas oleh polis.

* Pada 12 November 2014, pengendali laman web telah rasmi Zunar (zunar.my) disiasat polis. Polis juga meminta syarikat pengendali urusniaga penjualan, MOLpay untuk menyerahkan senarai nama-nama pembeli buku Zunar secara online.

* Pada 20 November 2014, Zunar disiasat di bawah Akta Mesin Cetak dan Akta Penerbitan, Akta Hasutan dan Kanun Keseksaan.

* Pada Julai 2010, lima judul buku Zunar bertajuk “Perak Darul Kartun”, “1 Funny Malaysia”,”Isu Dalam Kartun” Vol. 1, 2 dan 3 telah diharamkan oleh Menteri Dalam Negeri atas alasan kandungannya “Mengancam ketenteraman awam.”

* September 2010, Zunar ditangkap dibawah Akta Hasutan dan dilokapkan selama 2 hari kerana penerbitan buku “Cartoon-O-Phobia.”

* September 2009, pejabat Zunar di Kuala Lumpur diserbu dan 500 buah buku “Gedung Kartun” dirampas.

* Julai 2011 Zunar menerima anugerah “Keberanian dalam Melukis Kartun Editorial” oleh Rangkaian Hak Asasi Kartunis Antarabangsa (CRNI).

* Ogos 2011 Zunar menerima anugerah Hellman Hammett sebagai pembela hak asasi dari dari Human Rights Watch