KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Banning Lee Kuan Yew’s newest book will only profit the Singapore founder, a former director-general of Malaysia’s Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) said today.

Professor Dr Ismail Ibrahim said federal Islamic agencies should take a more proactive approach to counter any confusion that may arise from reading the former Singapore statesman’s controversial remarks on Islam as published in his recent memoirs “Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going”.

“We should have used print and electronic media, radio and TV, to explain to the public why Lee Kuan Yew’s views touched on the teachings and value of Islam, for example.

“Where is the confusion and the writer’s misunderstanding on Islamic culture and background of Malaysian Muslims compared to Singaporean Muslims,” the religious scholar, who once chaired the National Fatwa Council, wrote in his blog today in weighing in on the controversy.

Yesterday, The Malaysian Insider reported that the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) had listed Lee’s book as “haram” — nine months after the book hit the shelves in Malaysia — prompting Internet users to fire the federal religious body for being restrictive and extreme.

Jakim director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said the book had breached guidelines set by his department when asked to explain the “haram” status.

But Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who is minister in charge of Islamic affairs, denied the book has been banned.

In a text message to The Malaysian Insider, the senator insisted the book was being “examined”.

In his book, Lee, who served in Singapore’s Cabinet as prime minister, senior minister and minister mentor for 52 years before retiring in May, said Muslims in Singapore were socially “distinct and separate” and should “be less strict on Islamic observances” to aid integration and the city-state’s nation-building process.

It led to an uproar from Malay and Muslims groups on both sides of the Causeway with his old rival and former Malaysian PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accusing Lee of having no respect for religion.

Lee later retracted his statement in March ahead of a general election in the island which has a 15 per cent Malay-Muslim population.

His son Lee Hsien Loong led the ruling People’s Action Party to its worst-ever performance in this year’s general election, gaining just 60 per cent of popular support.