I’ve been an editor for travel, business, lifestyle and motoring publications for over 20 years. I think that makes me qualified to comment on the front cover of Rebirth: Reformasi, Resistance, and Hope in New Malaysia. The front cover is indeed a desecration of Malaysia’s coat of arms! There’s no need to delve on the legal reasons. A country’s national flag, national anthem and coat-of-arms should not be subject to creative interpretations.
As a side story, when I took over the editorship of Visitors’ Guide to Bali decades
ago, my superior advised me to avoid using religion and national symbols in
front-cover designs. His previous editor, a Westerner,
depicted Lord Ganesh with a couple of golf balls at the deity’s feet on the front
cover of Visitors’ Guide to Bali. As Hinduism is the dominant religion in Bali, it was considered a desecration of the deity. The editor’s work permit was revoked. He was kicked out of Indonesia. All copies of the travel guide had to be destroyed.
/end
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