Former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau has decided to challenge the government ban on his comic book titled Belt and Road Initiative for Win-Winism in court.

Hew, who is the curator of the Asia Comic Cultural Museum in Penang, plans to seek a judicial review to challenge the ban, which was imposed by the Home Ministry.

“My lawyer will announce the details soon,” Hew said in a statement on Facebook.

The brief post also came with the hashtags, “#IDidNotSpreadCommunism” and “#IamJustPromotingWin-Winism”.

However, Hew declined to disclose further details when contacted by Malaysiakini.

Earlier today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had also declined to comment on the controversial comic, which featured a foreword written by him.

He said this was because those who had published the comic, including Hew, supposedly wanted to take legal action.

The comic book, produced by Hew and local artist Tomato, came under intense public scrutiny after it was found to have been distributed to school libraries.

After a public outcry, the Education Ministry banned its distribution in schools saying that it had never approved the distribution of the book in the first place.

The Home Ministry subsequently banned the comic under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 for, among other reasons, promoting communism and sympathy for the communist struggle.

Home Ministry officers also seized copies of the book from the Asia Comic Cultural Museum.