29-9-2023 (KUALA LUMPUR) The Malaysian government has imposed a ban on a book due to public outrage over what was perceived as an offensive portrayal of an Indonesian maid. The author of the book, Boey Chee Ming, who is a Malaysian artist currently residing in the United States, has expressed regret over the controversial content and clarified that it was misconstrued.
The banned book, “When I Was a Kid 3,” was released in 2014 as part of a series of graphic novels recounting Boey’s childhood experiences in Malaysia. The Home Ministry, citing material that was deemed “likely to be prejudicial to morality,” issued the ban on September 15, as reported by local media.
The Indonesian non-governmental organization Corong Rakyat had previously organized a protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta in June, objecting to the book’s content, which they believed demeaned Indonesian maids. The rally was covered by Malaysia’s national Bernama news agency. At the time of this report, Home Ministry officials had not provided a response to the ban.
Boey Chee Ming indicated that the ban might have been triggered by a chapter in the book where his father likened their Indonesian domestic helper to a monkey because of her remarkable ability to climb a tree quickly to pluck coconuts. He expressed his regret regarding the situation, describing it as “unfortunate.”
Boey clarified his intention, stating, “My intention wasn’t to denigrate but to praise the impressive speed at which our helper had scaled the coconut tree — like a monkey. I returned to the tree on my own later that evening because I too, wanted to see if I could scale the tree at that speed.” He further offered his apologies to those who were offended and unintentionally hurt by the content.
Boey, aged 45, acknowledged that this journey of storytelling had been both wonderful and enlightening, with its share of ups and downs. He expressed his commitment to learning from this experience.
Indonesians constitute the majority of the over 2 million foreign workers in Malaysia, with more than 200,000 of them working as domestic helpers in Malaysian households. They are attracted by the better wages available in Malaysia compared to their home country.
