KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — A DAP lawmaker questioned today if Cabinet has discarded its 10-point solution on the Al-Kitab after Putrajaya reportedly proposed new guidelines that prohibit Christian publications with the word “Allah” from being imported to the Peninsula.
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said the proposals violate the constitutional right to freedom of religion and Cabinet’s 10-point solution that allows Malay-language bibles to be imported to West Malaysia, as long as the words “Christian Publication” and the symbol of a cross are printed on the front cover.
“I just cannot understand how Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, a Christian himself, could even present such guidelines to the Christian leaders in Sabah and Sarawak in April as well Christian Federation of Malaysia on May 18,” Kok said in a statement.
“He should know that the Christian community expects him to always be at the forefront fighting against any unfair and unacceptable government proposal, measure or policy that will violate the constitutional principle of freedom of religion.
He ought to have shot down the proposals, instead of presenting them to the Christian leaders. Or did the proposals come from him?” the opposition lawmaker questioned.
News portal The Malaysian Insider reported today that according to the government’s new draft standard operating procedure (SOP), Christian publications containing the word “Allah” cannot be imported to West Malaysia and if they are brought in, they can only pass through if the final destinations of the holy books are Sabah and Sarawak.
The proposed guidelines also reportedly state that the Al-Kitab can be brought into Peninsular Malaysia from Sabah and Sarawak, but only for personal use.
The authorities have previously seized Malay-language bibles and other Christian materials that contain the Arabic word for God, with the latest incident involving Christian CDs and books that were confiscated from a Sabahan last October at the second Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2).
