After Selangor returns bibles, Putrajaya urged to let Christians worship freely in Malay

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 14 — Sabah churches are hoping the long-awaited return of over 300 bibles to the Bible Society of Malaysia will prompt Putrajaya to lift restrictions on Malay-speaking Christian worshippers in peninsular Malaysia.

Sabah Council of Churches president Bishop Datuk Thomas Tsen said that while he was thankful and happy with the return of the holy texts after 10 months, it was still a struggle for many Bumiputera Christians living in other parts of the country, including Selangor.

“Many BM-speaking Sabahans and Sarawakians are in west Malaysia, as well as the Orang Asli, who only speak in Malay. We hope that the government will be more open armed and treat everyone fairly and with respect by letting all Malaysians use the language freely without limitations.  

“It’s only a language, and we should all be granted the use of it to the full extent. It’s a language that has been developed through time and history and with cultural context. I hope the openness that Sabah and Sarawak enjoys will eventually be granted in every State,” he said when speaking to the Malay Mail Online.

Earlier, Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (MAIS) returned some 321 bibles seized in January from the Bible Society of Malaysia headquarters in Petaling Jaya on condition that the books are not distributed in the state.

The Attorney-General said last June that the bibles, which were seized during Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s administration, were not controlled items and did not constitute a national security issue but the Islamic authority had then refused to release the bibles.

MAIS chairman Datuk Mohd Adzib Mohd Isa explained that the deal allowing the books to be returned also required followers of other faiths to observe a decree by the Sultan of Selangor Sultan that Muslim sensitivities be respected.

Today, Tsen said it was wrong to confiscate materials deemed holy to a religion just because of the language it was printed in, noting that this violated the right to freedom of religion in Malaysia.

“It shouldn’t be confiscated because of the language. We should all, as Malaysians, be able to use the national language to its fullest extent. It is very frustrating that only certain people be allowed to use the language in a certain way.

“I hope this move, under the approval of the Sultan of Selangor and the Mentri Besar of Selangor, is a sign of more positive things to come. That they will be more fair to the Bahasa-Malaysia-speaking Christians in West Malaysia as well as those here in Sabah and Sarawak,” said Tsen.

The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) Commission on Sabah Affairs (COSA) chairman and Sidang Injil Borneo president Reverend Datuk Jerry Dusing also greeted the news with joy, describing it as a Christmas present.

“The return of the bibles is indeed great news. It is like a Christmas present although long-awaited. The Selangor Sultan in handing over the bible himself is a very good gesture of goodwill to all Christians. This is indeed honouring to Christians,” said Dusing when contacted.

Dusing is currently embroiled in a court battle representing Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church against the federal government over the seizure of children’s books containing the word “Allah”.

Despite the Cabinet’s 10-point solution issued in 2011 that allowed the distribution of Christian bibles in the Malay, Indonesian and indigenous languages, authorities have continued to seize non-Muslim materials containing the word “Allah”.

Last month, a Sabahan Christian’s religious compact discs (CDs) and books were confiscated last month at the second Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2). These were later returned.

In another case, eight CDs containing the word “Allah” were confiscated from a Sarawakian Christian called Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal airport in Sepang in 2008.

Although the High Court here ruled last July that the Home Ministry was wrong to detain the CDs and ordered their return, the government has insisted on holding on to the items pending an appeal against the decision.

The “Allah” issue also continues to disturb the Christian Bumiputera communities who typically use Bahasa Malaysia in their holy scriptures and religious practices.

Over 60 per cent of Malaysian Christians only speak Bahasa Malaysia, and the word used for God in the Bahasa Malaysia Bible (Al-Kitab) since its translation in 1731, is “Allah”.