The Anti-Fake News Act 2018

Zunar, October 2017.
Zunar's drawn autobiography leading up to this year.
They have attempted to chain him through charges of "sedition" still looming,
but by doing so they chained him to his working chair.
His brain signaling to his arm to keep drawing.

Zunar, March 14, 2018.
All the elements of the overt corruption,
from the money-grapping to the luxury
spending into the one criminal bundle.

In December 2017 Zunar spoke about a new focus in his work. He would show the direct impact, which the corruption of the government has in the daily life of the Malaysians. To wit, the rakyat, the people to the right has been turned into Atlas, carrying on his back the excesses of those in power.

Zunar's words highlighted his strength of mind considering his work is continuously sought eliminated by the ban on his leaving the country, the ban on his books and the ban against his being published, not to mention his exhibitions being removed, whenever his cartoons are shown.

Zunar, August 18, 2017: We Are All The Same
The stones around their necks stating that the prices of goods are rising,
as is petrol, customs, the price on milk increasing and on diapers.

So while we are continuously concerned about his situation, he decided to go in a new direction in his cartoons. This way he is seeing to that Prime Minister Najib Razak and his 22-carat pink diamond-ring wearer of a wife, not to mention their associates shall not turn into icons. Popular demand wants to see what her ring is up to today in Zunar's cartoons, but the spotlight must stay on the menace to democracy that their actions represent.

Then came April 3 and the Anti-Fake News Act 2018.

Zunar, December 4, 2017.
- Go and get it!

Presidents with anti-democratic tendencies worldwide use the term as a diversionary tactic from their daily doings. The former Ecuadorean President Correa would call it lying, lamenting, how he could not govern due to all of the "lying" taking place. Critical scrutiny is thus labeled "stories", as in being fabricated. Lately the term has been "fake news". Malaysia became the country to formalize the term, turning it into law, with the expectation that the Philippines and Cambodia shall follow.

Zunar, March 28, 2018.
On top is a critic, while the other is the pervasive one, protected by law
His wife's finger is pointing directly at the critic.

Any person, who "maliciously creates, offers, publishes, prints, distributes, circulates or disseminates any fake news..." can be sentenced to a maximum of six years of imprisonment.

The law formulates fake news as an empty term, as we would expect. Yet, "maliciously" is defined as "capable of suggesting words or ideas". Anything creating food for thought, in other words.

In that sense the law turns out to be specific in content. Of its intent we were never be in any doubt. We have a word for that. It is censorship.

Zunar, Kick These Fakers Out, March 27, 2018.
The math of the new law in an election year.

To highlight said intent of the law, the government dissolved the parliament three days after its coming into being. It is election year and every step to silence the opposition is being taken.

Oh, and Fake News Act, sorry Anti-Fake, contains an "Extra-territorial application" making it illegal for someone like this blog post to criticize it even outside the borders of Malaysia. Which is a easy fact to brush off for me, but even my writing about it, may trouble the situation of Zunar further.

Such is the situation writing about any cartoonist in trouble, only this time the menace is put into law, giving its intent an air of righteousness. The law made certain that the use of "visuals" was included.

Zunar, The Story of The Cartoonist Zunar,
November 29, 2017.
One struggling dot and it is the black wig of the Prime Ministers wife 

Once again we are in a situation in which a cartoonist is menaced into silence by way of waving the courts before him or her - often for years at a time - and while it seems formal and clean from the outside, it is mental violence.

To which Zunar of course has a visual answer. He has scanned his brain.

It IS indeed mental violence, which is going on. They place themselves in there, censoring any and all thoughts, only in his case, he lets his brain ink out what his brain sees...

Zunar, My Brain Scan, February 8, 2018.

Zunar has declared his cartoons free of copyright to be distributed as far and widely as possible. Please do exactly that, wherever and whenever you all can.