It had on Tuesday ordered bookstores to suspend sales of "Where did I come from?" by Peter Mayle, pending further investigations.
The 44-page illustrated book published in 1984 aims to help parents explain to children such topics as sex, conception and birth.
Malaysia's Home Ministry said in a statement that the book was deemed harmful to society after critics complained it contained graphic illustrations.
"The home ministry today has decided to ban the book... because it contained elements which could threaten moral values and is offensive to the public," Abdul Rahim Mohamad Radzi, deputy secretary-general of security said.
Abdul Rahim warned that those who breached the order risked being jailed for up to three years.
Malaysia regularly bans publications, especially those touching on sex and religion.
Last November officials banned a book that offered sex tips to Muslim women.
Sex and sexuality are seen as taboo in Malaysia, while authorities are also on the lookout for interpretations of Islam that they consider stray from the mainstream.
COMMENTS (9)
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Its a good dcision by Malaysia...the Malaysians have saved the innocence and moral values of their children. Its actually a conspiracy of the west to take muslim children (future muslims) away from Islam, make them perverted and kill the ones who are practicing muslims. They also want to burn Quran Kareem (like what the US soldiers did in Afghanistan or the florida pastor) so that there is no trace left of Islam. InshaAllah they will never succeed in their evil plans. May Allah Protect Islam and Muslims. We are weak today, we are oppressed today, we are disunited today...May Allah give us true Iman and make us rise once again.Ameen.
First we need to ask, do we need to teach these topics formally and who is the right person to answer these questions that children ask?
Such books are meant to answer children questions in the most appropriate manner & are usually written by experts. If we ban proper books on these topics, then children will get this information through other sources such as the Internet and/or the sub standard books found in the news corner everywhere. Or they will learn from their friends, who may not have the proper/complete knowledge on this topic.
I mean, lets be honest here, where & how did we learn about these things when we grew up? Do you think it was the most appropriate way to learn about these things. Or it would have been better if we were taught these formally at the right age in the most appropriate manner, keeping in mind a child's age and his/her mental maturity?
But its a taboo in our society to talk about sex. One of the results of this is that our nation have become sexually very frustrated. No wonder we (Pakistanis) are no 1 on the Internet when searching for 'sex'.
No, Im not saying that we should start showing adult material in class rooms. But neither should we blush when 'saathi' ad appear on the TV. Between these two extremes, we can find a common ground.
An excellent decision. Certainly no need for education!! Malaysian children just like pakistani children or elsewhere.. Know it by rote
@Noor: Why don,t we write on such topics in light of Quranic verses. Is there any dearth of scholars?
Are you saying that kids of todays generation require to know all these through books? are you kidding me? they know it already man. Adults are just kidding themselves.
@Pakistan politics: So wat does "automatically" mean? Does a fairy come in the night and explain things to your 7 year old ? You gotta understand that the world we live in is surrounded by perverts waiting to pounce on anyone who least expects.Adding to this curiosity is also something that leads kids to trouble. So its better that we allow them to learn it at school so that they are aware as to wat to do and wat not to do
The best & Safest sex education for children is to be given at the time of puberty via QURAN & HADITH.
QURAN itself contains the accurate & need to know aspects, with explanation from HADITH.
I wish, our people in decision making positions implement the UNDERSTANDING OF QURAN RIGHT FROM START OF SCHOOLING.
ARABIC language should also be mandatory from Montessori onwards, as the learning abilities are sharpest at that age.
Well Done, Malaysia, sex education should be completely be banned .