The Home Ministry's decision to the ban the Iban-language Bible Bup Kudus is beyond belief. Such a ban is most unfair and smacks of religious intolerance despite the fact that it has been widely used by the Sarawak churches for the past 15 years.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism has issued a Declaration o­n Freedom of Religion or Belief and Elimination of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based o­n Religion or Belief. Such a declaration reaffirms freedom of religion as enshrined in the Federal Constitution with Islam as the official religion and does not pander to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration of Malaysia as an Islamic state o­n Sept 29 in 2001.

The reason given by the Home Ministry's Film Censorship and Publication Control Division enforcement chief in Sarawak, that Bup Kudus was banned because it breached the guidelines for non-Islamic religious books is most shocking and absurd, as it does not affect national security.

The Christians in Sarawak are certainly at a loss as to why the Iban Bible, which has been in use for many years in the Sarawak churches, can be suddenly banned by the Home Ministry.

The banning of the said book and other Christian publications will cause alarm and fear among the Christian community in Sarawak and other states that Malaysia is indeed an Islamic state as declared by Dr Mahathir, who has chosen the path of religious intolerance by declaring Malaysia to be such.

It is most sad to hear from a pastor that without the Iban Bible, they are unable to conduct church services. Such a predicament they are in o­nly goes to show a Third World mindset of the Home Ministry of religious intolerance. It is also a gross violation of the human right of the indigenous community to practise their faith freely. This excuse about a certain language being used being 'inappropriate' is the most preposterous o­ne given by the Home Ministry.

There should be an immediate lift of the ban of the non-Islamic religious books to safeguard religious freedom in the country. Malaysia should not be turned into an Islamic state by projecting itself to be religiously intolerant of other faiths in a multi-racial and multi-religious society, as this will have serious consequences in nation-building.