On the first day of the Selangor state assembly, Umno representatives had unequivocally stated their support for the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).
On the second day, we read that MCA is now expressing its disgust with the raid by Jais.
Both are component parties of Barisan Nasional - the ruling party at the federal level and the opposition in the Selangor state assembly.
The argument centers around the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment which was passed in 1988, when both MCA and Umno were part of the ruling government in Selangor.
I now wonder what MCA and even Gerakan leaders had done when the state enactment was allowed to be passed. At the same time, why did the then-attorney-general (A-G) not object to such an enactment, since it had the potential to undermine the constitutional rights of the non-Muslims to practise their religion freely?
It is this 1988 state enactment that gives the basis for Jais’s raid on the BSM on Jan 2. The whole argument hinges on whether the Christians can use any of these words in the Alkitab.
Acid test
Since then, three Pakatan state assemblypersons have agreed to table a motion to review the enactment, and I strongly believe that it will be fair to both the Muslims and non-Muslims in the state.
On one hand, the amendments will ensure that the enactment will not contravene the constitutional rights of the non-Muslims; on the other hand, it will also protect the Muslims from being proselytised.
After all, this was the context in which non-Muslims were prohibited from using some 30 Islamic words in the effort to propagate the non-Muslim faith to the Muslims, while no state laws can interfere with their rights to practice their own religions.
Ultimately, the federal constitution should be upheld to ensure that Christians in this country will be allowed to continue practising their religion without interference.
The acid test now is for MCA to back the motion tabled by these three Pakatan representatives and for Umno, their partner in BN, not to oppose such a motion.
In my opinion, MCA now has chance to redeem itself by supporting the motion. As for Umno, it has the opportunity to learn that even non-Muslim state assemblypersons, with proper guidance from their leaders in both PKR and PAS, understand and respect the sentiments of the Malays.
Meanwhile, it is time that all parties cease from quarrelling over the Jais raid, as advised by His Majesty, the Sultan of Selangor.
Political will
We know that, despite the 10-point solution, there is still no solution, as the federal government has since rescinded on the agreement in much the same way that it had snubbed Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia chairperson P Waythamoorthy and its agreement with the association before the 13th general election.
We also know that copies of the Alkitab were kept in the storeroom of BSM, yet they were confiscated by Jais officers in the presence of federal police, but Umno state assemblypersons are giving the excuse that they are afraid the presence of the Alkitab will lead to apostasy.
The excuse given by the Umno state assemblypersons has totally no basis at all. It is like saying MAS should ground all Boeing 777 jets until the missing MH370 is found.
Apostasy does not happen to Muslims simply because the Christians use the name ‘Allah’ in the Malay version of the Bible and there is no justification to seize 300 copies of the Alkitab from the premises of another religious organisation.
Let me suggest that both Umno and MCA can continue to quarrel among themselves in the state assembly but copies of Alkitab seized by Jais should be immediately returned, especially since the Attorney-General’s Office has no case against the BSM.
The chairperson of the Bible Society of Malaysia, Lee Min Choon, had earlier criticised the Selangor state government for not returning copies of the Alkitab but he has failed to understand the current tussles between the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and the Selangor state government over who has the authority to oversee Jais.
After the Selangor state government revised the standard operating procedure related to the raid where the exco has to be consulted before any raids on non-Muslim premises, Mais president Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa had taken out a half-page advertisement in The Star to defend Jais’s raid.
He had claimed that the raid was done following complaints lodged by the public regarding the publication of the Alkitab, “wherein the name ‘Allah’ is in the Bible which if (it) is proven is an offence under Section 9 of the 1988 Enactment”.
My conclusion is that there can be no solution unless there is political will at the top involving the prime minister himself. It is therefore baffling that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has allowed this sensitive religious issue to drag on for this long.
It is no wonder that, come the general election, when Najib starts talking about 1Malaysia, or his favourite kangkung-chicken talk, no one takes him seriously these days.
More to come
There will be more of such cases to come if political organisations continue to play on the 3R (Race, Religion and Royalty), so Malaysians have to be prepared to take the bull by its horn.
These politicians should realise by now that the Jais raid has not helped to gain brownie points for their political cause. Instead, it has stirred up a lot of unhappiness in both peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak, and I reckon that they should immediately cease to play on the 3R issues, as such issues do not benefit anyone.
STEPHEN NG is a chemist by training. He dealt with printing ink, paint and emulsion polymer for 15 years before becoming a freelance writer.
