According to an agency report, the Singaporean authorities blocked the publication in the local market of a book on political cartoons and censorship written by academic Cherian George and award-winning cartoonist Sonny Liew.
On 1 November, Professor George said the distributor of "Red Lines: Political Cartoons and the Struggle Against Censorship" had approached the Infocomm Media Development Authority(IMDA) in August for consultations before the planned publication in Singapore. Singapore's regulations differ from those of the United States, where the book is published.
Through Alkem, the authors understand that IMDA was grateful for the cooperation and appreciated the academic purpose of the book. "IMDA recognised that the book republishes examples of controversial vignettes to illuminate ongoing debates and not to offend," said Professor George.
The book includes some potentially inflammatory cartoons, while its draft has been sent to a diverse spectrum of readers around the world to test their sensitivity, said the academic from Hong Kong Baptist University's School of Communication and Film.
Noting the IMDA's "additional caution", Professor George stated: "We will need more time to determine whether and how we can offer Singapore readers a version of Red Lines that fully and faithfully communicates the essence of the book, while at the same time addressing the regulator's concerns about the exhibition of works it considers "objectionable".
Sonny Liew came into the public eye in 2015 after the National Arts Council (NAC) withdrew the $8,000 grant for his book"The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye" just before its release. Explaining the reason for the withdrawal, an NAC spokesperson said the book "potentially undermines the authority" of the Singapore government. The book won three Eisner awards.
With the churches we have stumbled
IMDA now considers Red Lines to be objectionable under the Undesirable Publications Act (UPA) and qualifies:
"This is because the publication contained offensive images denigrating religions, including reproductions of the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published by Charlie Hebdo, which provoked protests and violence abroad. The publication also contained other denigratory references related to Hinduism and Christianity".
IMDA, in consultation with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Home Affairs, has identified 29 images that are objectionable according to the UPA and has asked Alkem to address the issue.
In the past five years, IMDA has classified six other publications as objectionable for denigrating various religious communities.
Under the UPA, a person convicted of importing, selling, distributing, manufacturing or reproducing an objectionable publication faces a fine of up to $5,000 and/or a maximum jail sentence of 12 months.
Humour in trouble, a collection of cases
Cases of cartoonists who have had problems of some importance because of their cartoons or satirical illustrations. There are also some stories of other people who, without being cartoonists, have got into trouble for sharing them.
