FRUSTRATED: Saw is perplexed about the non-existing guidelines — Pic: Gan Jin Liangw

BRUCE Lee signifies communism.

Or at least, that's what one trader learnt yesterday, after his T-shirt stall at Central Market was raided by a team from the Publication and Quranic Texts Control Division of the Home Ministry.

The trader, Patrick Saw, was told the ministry had taken a decision to clamp down on anything indicating the "promotion" of communism.

So, while Saw's T-shirts portray humorous parodies of current issues or play on English words, the Ministry officials still confiscated T-shirts with images of Bruce Lee depicted in four frames and Mao Zedong portrayed as "Mickey Maos".

Saw was informed of the raid by his staff about noon yesterday. He rushed there and also spoke to one of the officers over the phone.

POPULAR STALL: Customers having a laugh over Patrick Saw’s T-shirt designs at Central Market

"I asked him to wait for me before confiscating anything."

But, the officials left before Saw reached his stall, taking with them 83 T-shirts they declared were "obscene and  containing communist elements".

"My staff told me four government officers confiscated the T-shirts and prevented customers from buying them," he said.

Saw is puzzled by how the officer could decide what was obscene whenhe didn't have a proper command of the language.

"On the phone with him, I found he could not speak a word of English."

This is the third time that Saw's stall has been raided and he's quite frustrated.

"As a small businessman,I am keen to abide by the law. However, since the first raid on my stall on July 13, 2005, no guideline was given.None of the images on my designs were gazetted as inappropriate."

After the second raid on his stall on Sept 26, 2007, Saw claimed, he received a verbal apology from the department.

Since then, as similar images have been used in publications read by millions in Malaysia, Saw didn't expect this third raid.