PETALING JAYA, June 30 — The Registrar of Societies’ (RoS) planned visit to the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) office was postponed today, the society has confirmed.
Eugene Yapp, a BSM board member, confirmed to reporters here that no reason was given for the regulator’s abrupt cancellation.
“This morning, the Hon. Secretary of BSM Reverend Mathew K. Punnoose received a call from ROS Selangor informing him that the inspection is postponed till a yet-to-be-announced date,” a statement signed by Mathew on behalf of the BSM executive committee said today.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that RoS did not provide any reason for the visit when it notified the BSM via an email, with the regulator reportedly telling BSM to prepare its membership roll, meeting minutes and accounts for inspection.
An RoS official told Malay Mail Online, however, that the two-hour visit to BSM’s office that was to start at 1pm today is part of a normal procedure provided for under the Societies Act 1966.
The agency also denied that it is related to the Court of Appeal’s decision last week to return eight Christian CDs seized from a Sarawakian Christian, Jill Ireland, in 2008 at the low-cost carrier terminal in Sepang.
The RoS insisted that it is merely exercising its rights under Section 63 of the Act ― which grants the registrar power of entry and inspection of a society’s premises, books, accounts, minutes of meetings and other documents.
The particular section, however, states that such powers are invoked if the registrar “has reason to believe that any society is carrying on activities in contravention of any provision of this Act or any regulations made thereunder or any of its rules”.
A BSM member who declined to be named told Malay Mail Online yesterday that the society had already dutifully sent in its minutes, membership list and accounts as required.
Another provision under the Societies Act, Section 64, allows ROS to forcefully enter and seize material from a society if deemed to be used as “purposes prejudicial to public peace, welfare, good order or morality in Malaysia”.
Last January, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) carried out a surprise raid of BSM’s Selangor office and seized over 300 copies of the bible in Malay and Iban, using a 1988 Selangor state law that prohibits non-Muslims from using “Allah” to refer to God.
The bibles were returned to the Christian community in November later in the year, albeit stamped in red with a warning that they were not to be published or used anywhere in Selangor.
