Joan Lau
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 21, 2012
FEB 21 — I was shocked to read our Home Ministry has ordered an immediate stop to the sale of “Where Did I Come From?”, an illustrated book for children that explains well… where we all come from.
I remember buying that book for my youngest brother when he was just six or seven years old.
It’s a lovely book that teaches you the proper names for the various parts of the anatomy (penis rhymes with peanuts) and told about how your parents fell in love, had sex and made you.
Sure, there are naked people in the book — illustrated, mind — but there is nothing pornographic about it.
Now, more than 35 years after I first bought that book for my brother — who by the way did not become a deviant or pervert — they are saying the book “might be suitable for children at the writer’s country of origin” but is not suitable for Malaysia.
What absolute rubbish!
I reckon if more kids grew up reading “Where Did I Come From?” we may actually have fewer “accidents” resulting in unwanted pregnancies.
At the end of the day, you can see porn everywhere should you choose to.
Instead what I find obscene is the people at the Home Ministry treating a book that teaches basic sex education to children as pornography.
#1 by aiD_kamikuP on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 - 11:04 pm
It’s very hard to explain such perplexing decision apart from perhaps the pea-brain initiating this decision must have wondered whether he/she came out from the posterior end and like an ostrich did not want to find out truth.
#2 by good coolie on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 12:02 am
We Malaysians (most of us) are conservative. Perhaps we are not yet ready for our young ones to know the truth. When I was in Form 3, my friend E.M. tested me with that question, and I answered that we came from the navel! I was laughed at and was I told the shocking truth: “inter faeces et urinam” (between faeces and urine), as St. Augustine, and St.Gregory said. My opinion is that we should let our children take their time to know this. Meanwhile, let the stork and the birds and the bees be the answer. As for censorhip or banning of the book, I agree, let us not go as far that.
#3 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 12:59 am
It may not be because Malaysians are not yet ready for our young ones to know the truth. The restriction that may lead to ban of Peter Mayle’s book because our moral guardians say it contains immoral elements unsuited to our society. To Joan Lau sure there are illustrations of naked mom & pop but its “nothing pornographic” and she’s right if one defines pornographic as not just depicting sexually explicit contents but also with the added element of tending to sexually arouse. The illustrations do not arouse, in fact Mayle goes the length to try make humorous by making both dad & mum plump with the man bald headed, woman with accentuated rounded mobile milk bars and both with public hairs. Nevertheless for those who think these parts should be covered -in fact to them couples should not even how affection in public places- the illustration is deemed pornographic and possibly will arouse the repressed to immoral and lewd thoughts!
#4 by monsterball on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 12:59 am
Perhaps the book makes children learn to think and be more open minded..and that defeats the purpose of UMNO b making more idiots.
#5 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 1:12 am
Which leads to the question now to tell the young. Leave it to the stork the birds and the bees??? Now Hasan Ali already complained that “every 17 minutes a child was born out of wedlock in Malaysia”… In FELDA husbands are swapping wives. What is going on ?” he asked! [The MalaysianInsider Shannon Teoh’s report of February 21, 2012] However ironically many of his ilk do not like “Where Did I Come From?” The book’s cover claims that it tells “the facts of life without any nonsense” but to them, to show, albeit by funny illustration/ cartoon drawings, and be explicit of human anatomical sexual parts (that should be covered) is (except where it concerns some opposition opponent in compromising position) worse than nonsense : its no shame and haram! It’s a thing of mindset that we’re contending here.
#6 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 1:40 am
So how to tell 6-9 yr children using words only, if no book with illustrations is allowed by our moral guardians? A suggestion here: Tell them that mom has this pond inside her lower abdomen that manufactures eggs (very small, eye cannot see) and dad manufactures these little tadpoles below a certain part of his body that is elastic that can grow to sprinkle many of these tadpoles inside Mom’s abdomen when she’s near enough. When this happens, these tadpoles meet Mom’s egg, and though all will want to take up free residence inside Mom’s egg, only one is lucky to get in, with the rest dying of head trauma. Now that lucky one will interact with Mom egg and drawing nourishment from her body develop to something that look like an alien and make her belly bigger and bigger until she gets so uncomfortable that its necessary for her to expel this alien out from her stomach through a hidden but elastic vent somewhere between her legs: that’s how you were created and where you came from, stupid! No need illustration like in the book, just a simple explanation of “the facts of life without any nonsense” for these people.
#7 by undertaker888 on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 1:58 am
The home minister got an erection while reading the children’s book. That’s why they decided to ban it. They can’t think well with their brains while having an erection. Not enough blood for both heads.
If Malaysian children want to learn about where did they came from, just watch Chua soi Lek porno video. It is acceptable to the home ministry. After all csl is the head of MCA with stamp of approval from Umno govt.
#8 by k1980 on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 2:08 am
Yes, Malaysians are immature to have allowed BN to rule over them for 54 years
http://malaysiakini.com/letters/189806
#9 by k1980 on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 2:10 am
//just watch Chua soi Lek porno video. //
Little wonder that there have been a rise in baby dumping since 2008. The teens are following what he did in that video
#10 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 2:22 am
///if Malaysian children want to learn about where did they came from, just watch Chua soi Lek porno video???/// They will misguidedly think they come from their mother’s swallowing something!
#11 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 5:42 am
Home Ministry stops sale of ‘Where Did I Come From’ book; WHAT lah?
Bcos d book described d act of sexual intercourse n how d male n female genitalia functioned? WHAT’s NEW?
Oredi youngsters hv their sex education fr d WIFE-CHEATER 奸夫 CSL, Y ban d book?
We also got all sorts of explicit sexual acts screened by UmnoB/BN kakis
Mayb UmnoB/BN want OWC members 2 teach, demonstrate sex education to our youngsters
#12 by yhsiew on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 6:48 am
BN are hopeless reformers – the country will remain backward if led by these people.
#13 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 8:17 am
No FEAR, loctor loh si mah will get another PhD 4 special childhood education, 4 delivering special seks education 2 d young
#14 by k1980 on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 8:19 am
//the country will remain backward if led by these people.//
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is still not recognized by the people in charge in this country.
#15 by dagen wanna "ABU" on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 8:31 am
Hmmm what about the book on sex by the obedient wives club?
#16 by rockdaboat on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 8:33 am
Pea brain!
#17 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 9:09 am
Just because someone from UMNO Youth claimed to have received many complaints from the public about the book’s graphic description of love-making between two people, the bureaucrats in Home Ministry took the knee jerk step of ordering a temporary halt to the book’s sales to study if the content could harm the community’s “morals ”. Which community and what morals? Time these faceless bureaucrats be held accountable for their decisions: don’t they have to come out public to justify what they do that affects all? If the rest of us complain will they bother? If anyone from UMNO Youth or Perkasa complain, its immediate action??? What’s this country coming to?
#18 by monsterball on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 9:51 am
We were taught biology..the functions of the organs..from Std 4 …how as child was conceived..with film slides..all for knowledge…no rapes…no nothing.
Nowasdays….little youths can view sex movies..freely..at home or anywhere…no need hiding place…YET this book is banned.
#19 by TheWrathOfGrapes on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 10:41 am
I wonder which rock or coconut shell those in the Home Ministry are hiding under.
Kids nowadays are more precocious than the previous generation, especially those with access to the internet.
This may be just an anecdote, but there this a grain of truth:
A father was trying to broach the subject of sex, and was hemming and hawing. He stammered: “Son, I want to talk to you about the birds and bees…”
But before he could finished the sentence, his son answered: “Yes, dad, what do you want to know about sex?”
#20 by Jeffrey on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 12:29 pm
The kids may be more precocious than their parents on matters of sex thanks to the Net and peers sharing of knowledge/experience but their objection to the book is not based solely on issue of how best to impart such information to children. It is more focussed on issue of being seen pious and the image of upholding and safguarding morality whatever that may mean to them as distinct from rest of us and false pretense – and shame- of being disturbed and violated by the effrontery of graphic illustrations of genital and other parts intended to be covered and shielded from the eyes of the devout.
#21 by cemerlang on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 1:58 pm
It is the heron which carries the baby into the world.
#22 by TheWrathOfGrapes on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 2:10 pm
And causing so many teenage girls getting pregnant and contracting all sorts of vile diseases…
#23 by cemerlang on Wednesday, 22 February 2012 - 3:32 pm
…and boomerang back to the hoo ha thingy about the obedient wife club book as pointed out already. Talk about flip flop. Just exactly what do you want ? Hear no evil ? Talk no evil ? See no evil ? Or porn which is nearest to the real thing. cough ! cough ! nah ! That would bring down your or is it mine holy image !
#24 by boh-liao on Friday, 24 February 2012 - 5:16 am
Education Minister says NO NEED dat book lah 2 teach sex education 2 school kids, just use d VCDs of my boss CSL n those provided by Datuk 3 oredi very good lah