PETALING JAYA, Jan 7 — Still reeling from last week’s raid by religious officers, the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) found itself the target again of local enforcement authorities when officers from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) dropped by its premises today.

BSM general-secretary Rev Simon Wong confirmed with The Malay Mail Online that two MBPJ officers knocked on the society’s doors early this morning, asking to inspect the office.

But Wong said he did not allow the officers into the three-storey building that BSM occupies.

“I wanted to see a proper letter of authority,” he said when contacted here. “Or at least [be] given a notice in advance.”

“We consider this a harassment,” he added, pointing out that BSM has occupied the building at Damansara Kim here since 1986.

“We have not had any problems for decades,” he said.

Wong will be holding a press conference on the episode at 3pm today.

When contacted, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) public relations officer Zainun Zakaria said the inspection could have “simply been a routine check up” but added that she would first check with the council’s officers before confirming the matter.

Today’s incident comes just under a week after the Selangor religious authorities raided BSM’s office last Thursday, seizing copies of both the Malay-language and Iban bibles that contain the word “Allah”, while three BSM officials, including Wong, were also held by police.

A coalition of Malay-Muslim groups later announced that a rally will be held at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang last Sunday morning over the insistence of Christians in the state to use the word ‘Allah’.

But after a warning from the police, the group ended up moving their event - which was attended by just 50 protesters - to a nearby stadium.

Tensions flared after Jais announced plans to clamp down on churches in the state that used the Arabic word in their worship, even as the so-called “Allah” row remains unresolved four years after it shocked the nation and led to the worst religious strife in the country’s history.

The Court of Appeal in October ruled that the Arabic word was exclusive to Muslims, most of whom are ethnic Malays,.

That ruling overturned a court decision that allowed a Roman Catholic newspaper printed in Malay, the country’s national language, to use Allah.

The change has heightened concern that religious authorities, which issue rulings for Muslims and operate alongside civil courts, now have more legal muscle.