BIBLES BELONG TO THE CHRISTIANS, AZMIN TELLS SULTAN
SAH ALAM, Malaysia - The Malay- and Iban-language Bibles seized by the state
religious authority in January do not belong to the Muslims and must be
returned to the Christians, Selangor Chief Minister, Mohamed Azmin Ali(photo) said
yesterday.Azmin told some 1,000 DAP supporters at the party’s fund-raising dinner that he informed the Selangor palace of this, with the hope that the prolonged issue will finally be resolved.
“I have brought this matter to the Sultan... how the Alkitab
does not belong to the Muslims. They belong to the Christians, whom we must
respect,” Azmin said in his speech at the MBPJ Civic Hall in Petaling Jaya.“Islam has never asked its followers to disrupt the harmony of other faiths. It is our duty to respect the practise of the other religions in the country. This is a multi-religious society. This is not Saudi Arabia or Sudan. This is Malaysia. This is Selangor.
- “This is why we are working on a formula, and I am confident that if they understand the true Islam, then the Bibles must be returned to the Christians.”
- He said that as the new menteri besar, he took his position seriously and would look after all Selangor folks, regardless of their background.
- He added that Muslims must respect the other faiths in Malaysia, and that the rights of non-Muslims to practise their religion was guaranteed in the Federal Constitution.
The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department seized 321 Bibles
during a raid at The Bible Society of Malaysia’s (BSM) office in Damansara Kim
on January 2, 2014.The raid pushed BSM to shift its operations to Kuala Lumpur. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 11, 2014.The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department seized 321 Bibles during a raid at The Bible Society of Malaysia’s (BSM) office in Damansara Kim on January 2, 2014.
The raid pushed BSM to shift its operations to Kuala Lumpur. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 11, 2014.
“I don’t care what (Perkasa
chief Datuk) Ibrahim Ali(photo)says… As the menteri besar, I have to defend the
people of Selangor, irrespective of race and religion.”Azmin’s predecessor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, was widely panned by DAP and even his own party, PKR, for not taking a firmer stance over the Bible issue, which had dragged on for months with no resolution in sight.
- But, Azmin, who was sworn in as the 15th menteri besar on September 23, told reporters yesterday he had met with the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and the Selangor Islamic Affaris Council (Mais) and that the outcome would be made known soon.
- Jais seized the 321 Bibles during a raid at The Bible Society of Malaysia’s (BSM) office in January.
- Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail ordered the Bibles to be returned to BSM, after the Selangor government under, Khalid, referred the matter to him.
- Although Gani concluded that the Bible distributor had done nothing wrong, Mais insisted there were grounds to prosecute it under the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation among Muslims) Enactment 1988.
- Khalid referred the matter to the Sultan of Selangor who ordered Jais to refer it to the state public prosecutor.
- Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah's private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani said that the sultan's order was in line with the minutes issued by the A-G's Chambers that "Jais has to act in accordance to the law on the issue of the seized Bibles".
"Jais should promptly refer it to the state public
prosecutor for it to be brought to court for final determination," the
sultan said in the statement.He also said the issue should not be politicised by any quarter resulting in confusion by proposing solutions which were not based on the law.
But the ruler did not state which court the authorities should refer the matter to, civil or shariah.
The Malaysian Insider
MALAYSIAN CHRISTIANS ARE IN DELIMMA OVER STAMPED BIBLES
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Last night, the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) was told its shipment of 5,100 Alkitab — as the Malay Bibles are called — have been stamped with the Home Ministry’s official seal, as per the conditions imposed for the release issued two days ago, without its prior permission.The first requires the importers to directly stamp on the cover of each of the 35,000 copies the following words: “Peringatan: ‘Al Kitab Berita Baik’ ini untuk kegunaan penganut agama Kristian sahaja. Dengan perintah Menteri Dalam Negeri.” [In English: “Reminder: This ‘Al Kitab Berita Baik’ is for the use of Christians only. By order of the Home Minister.”]
The cover of the Alkitab would be stamped with the department’s official seal and dated as well. The second condition requires the importers to stamp a serial number on each copy as if to demarcate copies from the released shipment and to enable the book to be traced back to the port of import.- The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM)said it wholly rejects the Malaysian federal government’s argument that the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia is “prejudicial to the national interest and security of Malaysia”. It condemned the government’s treatment of its holy books as “subversive publication”.
The CFM said Christian Malaysians have always acted in good faith and with great patience to reach a peaceful end to religious dispute that would not compromise their beliefs. But that good faith has not been reciprocated by the government, it said. - It further accused Putrajaya of having moved the “goal posts” over the years “through a systematic imposition of unreasonable conditions and restrictions”.
- “As Christians we wonder how our Holy Scriptures can become a national security threat where countless number of us find it helpful in bringing hope and healing to broken lives and homes which we can testify to,” it said.
The CFM called on all Malaysians to rally together and reject all attempts to control the freedom of religion in the country.- It also advised all Christians to remain calm and pray for a dignified and respectful resolution to the ongoing Alkitab row and noted that Sunday will mark the second year the holy books have been detained at Port Klang.
However, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein defended today his ministry’s stamping of the 5,100 Malay-language bibles in Port Klang with its official seal, saying it was standard protocol and not done to “deface” the Alkitab. The minister also said his men had no choice but to adhere to these procedures as the BSM had wanted the Bibles to be released quickly.“We stamped the Bible based on amalan (practice) before... during Abdullah Badawi and even Tun Dr Mahathir’s time,” Hishammuddin told reporters today, referring to the two immediate past prime ministers.
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