KUALA LUMPUR – Former DAP member Hew Kuan Yau, better known as “Superman Hew”, failed yesterday in his bid to seek RM1.048 million in compensation for loss of income following the seizure of 13 copies of the comic book titled Inisiatif Jalur & Jalan Meraih Manfaat Bersama by the Home Affairs Ministry four years ago.
High court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh also did not allow Hew’s application for general, severe, and exemplary damages in the damages assessment proceedings for the judicial review application filed by Hew against the government, the Home Affairs Ministry, the home minister, and the Attorney General’s Chambers as respondents.
However, judge Amarjeet, who made the decision via e-mail allowed the legal costs claimed by Hew, amounting to RM51,140, and the cost price of the 13 seized books, amounting to RM325.
Attorney Vince Tan represented Hew, while senior federal attorney Nur Irmawatie Daud acted for all the respondents.
In December 2022, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision on July 6 of the same year, which allowed Hew’s appeal to overturn the Home Minister’s decision to ban the comic book.
The Federal Court also ordered the case to be returned to the high court for the assessment of damages.
Hew had filed an appeal after the high court on April 26, 2021, rejected his application to cancel the ban order by the home affairs minister and the gazette of the Attorney General’s Chambers dated October 23, 2019, in the judicial review application he filed.
Hew is the co-author of a comic book published by the Asian Comic Culture Museum in three languages – Malay, English, and Chinese. The ban order was for all three languages.
In the application, Hew also sought a declaration that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 was unconstitutional, null, and void. – December 8, 2023