KUALA LUMPUR – On Sunday the Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar released a new book of cartoons criticizing Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak.  Zunar, who currently faces 43 years in charges over a tweet critical of the PM, is distributing Sapuman, Man of Steal independently beginning with Sunday’s underground launch.

Zunar signs copies of his latest collection of cartoons in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (Facebook.)

In February, Zunar was arrested for posting a tweet depicting Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak throwing a law book into the trash in the controversial jailing of opposition politician Anwar Ibrahim on charges of sodomy.  Shortly thereafter he released a book poking fun at the lavish lifestyle of the Prime Minister’s wife, which was confiscated by police upon its release.

Announcing the release of Sapuman, Zunar posted the following message to his website:

I HEREBY announce the publication of my new cartoon book -“Sapuman – Man of Steal.” …Most of the cartoons in Sapuman are collections of my political cartoons that have appeared on the internet and the social medias from February 2015 until August 2015.

…The police blocked my two attempts to launch my previous book, “Ros In Kangkong Land.” Will the police come and disrupt the launching event this time? I would like to state that, “I do not really care what the police wants to do; I only focus on what I am supposed to do.”

My artworks are blended each with a stand, information and direction as well as jokes. I want people to turn their anger into jokes because laughter is a form of protest in Malaysia. In you cannot beat them, then laugh at them. No repressive regime can survive being mocked at. Since “Sapuman – Man of Steal” cannot be sold in the open market, I will have to rely on the support from readers. Only with the support of my fans, the readers and the people who are concerned can the publishing of my cartoons and books continue.

The release party was hosted by Zunar in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinese Assembly Hall and officiated by a Member of Parliament and a prominent scholar.

Zunar’s book is being sold at a price of 26 Malaysian Ringgit ($6 USD), a symbolic number chosen by Zunar because it is 1/100,000,000 of a suspicious RM2.6 billion ($600 million) received by the Prime Minister in a personal account.  The PM is widely suspected by the opposition of stealing state funds.

The cover of Zunar’s latest book, released Sunday, depicts PM Najib Razak stealing from Malaysia’s coffers (Zunar.)

Zunar’s case has drawn increasingly strong attention to Malaysia’s Sedition Act, which criminalizes speech against the government.  In light of the charges brought against him, the country’s parliament has passed reform of the law, with Zunar’s supporters hopeful that the reforms will mean an end to his legal troubles.

The Voice Project is also running a campaign calling for the charges brought against Zunar to be dropped.

Zunar’s book Sapuman: Man of Steal is available for purchase on the artist’s website.