The Kuala Lumpur High Court says the publication could upset racial sensitivities, which have already strained by recent attacks on places of worship.

The court ruled Friday that the Home Ministry was correct to issue the ban on “March 8,” which recounts clashes between ethnic Malay Muslims and ethnic Indians that killed six people on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2001.

Race relations have long been a touchy topic in Malaysia, where nearly two-thirds of the country's 28 million people are Malays. The government carefully manages ethnic relations between Malays and the large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, and promotes the country as a model of racial harmony.