Apply 10-point plan on ‘Allah’ to all, say Selangor reps

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — Putrajaya’s 10-point solution allowing Sabah and Sarawak Christians to use “Allah” should be extended to all states to defuse growing religious tension over the Arabic word, said two Selangor assemblymen.

Responding to a suggestion by Bible Society Malaysia (BSM) president Lee Min Choon for Selangor religious enforcers to act according to the Cabinet-endorsed plan, Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin said the 10-point plan should also be the basis for future policies and legislation on the subject.

“The solution should be respected. It should work as a foundation for future laws,” Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin told The Malay Mail Online.

The 10-point solution, issued by the Najib administration shortly before the Sarawak state election in 2011, allowed for bibles in Malay and indigenous languages to be printed, imported and distributed nationwide with certain conditions imposed for Peninsula Malaysia.

But some states have existing laws that expressly contravene the Putrajaya solution.

The Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988, passed by the then BN 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).

It was used as the basis for a raid on the BSM office last week that led to the seizure of over 300 Malay- and Iban-language bibles as well as the arrest of two society officials.

Terengganu was the first state to gazette the legislation in 1980; nine other states in the peninsula have since passed similar laws.

But until Jais’ recent enforcement against the BSM, however, such laws were believed to be limited to cases of proselytisation to Muslims.

After a weeklong silence on the controversy that reignited incendiary arguments that “Allah” is exclusive to Islam, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim ordered Jais to return the seized bibles to BSM provided they complied with the 10-point solution.

But Jais has yet to do so. Instead, it pressed ahead with questioning BSM’s Lee along with the society’s office manager, Sinclair Wong, over the bibles.

This led to Lee’s insistence that such conflicts could only be resolved if the state recognise the 10-point solution and are able to rein in departments under its administration. 

“The greater responsibility is on the state to find a solution to this problem and ... I believe that if the state embraces the 10 points, it would be a good enough solution for the moment.

“I think we have to face the reality of the situation, I think the 10-point is a very realistic solution to the problem,” he said on Thursday.

Jais director Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad declined to comment when contacted on the state’s instruction and BSM’s request to endorse the 10-point solution.

Seri Andalas PKR assemblyman Xavier Jayakumar said while the state government pondered on whether the seized bibles complied with the 10-point solution, the Home Ministry should work on streamlining state and federal legislation related to the controversy. 

“The Home Ministry should call on the various religious departments in all the states and clarify on this issue and determine how to resolve it,” he said when contacted. 

But Xavier also criticised the state for not “condemning” Jais over the raid, pointing out that this was the second time the department had sparked controversy with its raids.

“The raid on BSM on the claim of propagation is the same excuse they used when they raided the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) before,” said Dr Xavier, referring to an incident in 2011 when Jais arrived unannounced and without a warrant to a multiracial dinner at DUMC over a complaint of proselytisation. 

“The state should guard the interests of non-Muslims too,” he said.

Since October, Christian-Muslims ties have been strained following the Court of Appeal ruling then barring “Allah” to Catholic Church, during which it also ventured that the word was not integral to the Christian faith.

The ongoing legal dispute between the government and the Catholic Church over its right to print the word “Allah” in the Herald’s Bahasa Malaysia section is still pending before the Federal Court, which is set to hear arguments from both sides on February 24 before deciding on whether it will hear an appeal by the Catholic Church.