Bible seizures ‘treason’ in face of 10-point solution, says Sarawak Churches

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Selangor Islamic authorities’ raid against the distributors of the Al-Kitab in East Malaysia was treachery in the face of the Cabinet’s 10-point solution allowing Christians there the continued use of “Allah”, the Association of Sarawak Churches (ACS) said today.

Highlighting entries in the 2011 10-point solution that expressly permit the Malay-language bibles to imported and printed throughout Malaysia, Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok who heads the ACS questioned why yesterday’s controversial raid was allowed to take place.

“How Jais had the audacity to do what it did to the Bible Society Malaysia (BSM) which resulted in the arrest of its two officials, seizure of 320 copies of Al-Kitab and 10 copies of Bup Kudus is shocking.

“If an action assumes such arrogance that violates the Federal Constitution and pays total disregard to the prime minister’s directive is not treason, I do not know what is,” Lapok said in a statement today.

Jais together with police yesterday raided the BSM office in Petaling Jaya where it seized over 300 copies of the Al-Kitab Malay language bible and the Iban version, Bup Kudus. Two society officials were also arrested.

Yesterday’s raid followed the Islamic department’s announcement last week that it planned to instruct churches in the state to cease using “Allah” in their worship, as part of a state law and royal decree limiting its use to Islam.

The Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988, passed by the then Barisan Nasional state government, prohibits non-Muslims in Selangor from using 35 Arabic words and phrases in their faith, including “Allah”, “Nabi” (prophet), “Injil” (gospel) and “Insya’Allah” (God willing).

Warning that the prolonged dispute over “Allah” was beginning to poison religious harmony and divide Malaysia’s various communities, Lapok urged all parties to abide by the “guarantee of religious freedom as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and which was agreed to when Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaya to form Malaysia.”

“I would urge that in our handling of such a sensitive issue, it is imperative that we exercise maximum restraint and without undue prejudice. Our action will either convict or commend us before men and God. JAIS has much to answer for its action,” Lapok added.

In October, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that a recent Court of Appeal decision on the use of the word “Allah” does not affect Christians in Sabah and Sarawak.

The 10-point solution, which was issued by the Najib administration shortly before the Sarawak state election in 2011, allows bibles in the Malay and indigenous languages to be distributed freely without such conditions in Sabah and Sarawak.

But yesterday’s raid on BSM, which holds distribution rights to the Al-Kitab in Sabah and Sarawak, has now thrown this into doubt.

BSM said yesterday that its customers are not just the churches in Sabah and Sarawak, but also Sabahan and Sarawakian Christians, Orang Asli churches and other Malay-speaking Christians in the peninsula.

Bumiputera Christians, who form about 64 per cent or close to two-thirds of the Christian community in Malaysia, have used the word “Allah” when praying and speaking in the national language and their native tongues for centuries.