Zaid Ibrahim says the government in prolonging the issue of the Malay-language Bible is simply giving ammunition to the opposition, when it could have been settled easily.

“Different quarters have been allowed to abuse this issue for political gains. Must it come down to political parties fishing for votes based on promises of religious freedom?

zaid ibrahim quits pkr 191110 02 "Isn’t this already guaranteed in our constitution?” said the former Umno and PKR member, now president of his own party Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita).

Zaid ( right ), in a statement today, echoed arguments from various quarters that the Malay Bible had been in use without issues for decades by Christians in East Malaysia.

“It should not be an issue now.

“It is of manufactured importance and thus truly bewildering why BN is allowing the opposition a free reign with the subject to gain political currency.

"Why are they leaving this open for exploitation when it is a situation so easily addressed?” said Zaid, also former de facto law minister.

He pointed out the irony in the success of enforcing the use of Bahasa Malaysia has reached such an extent that the translation of the Bible has become the root of the ongoing problem.

NONE “This is hypocritical of us. We want everybody to use the common language of Bahasa Malaysia but are not willing to allow it when it comes to practising one’s religion,” he said.

He added that there was already a wealth of safeguards for Islam in the country both in the constitution and in practice, to avoid what the government claimed would be “confusion” to Muslims caused by translations.

“There are enough safeguards in place if the concern is that young children may be confused by being exposed to the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.

"But let us not appear to be so weak in our own faith that we cannot even let people who practice other religions do so in their own language.”

'Release Bible now '

Meanwhile, Zaid’s former parti PKR is calling for the immediate release of the hostage holy books, along with an assurance that this incident would not be repeated.

NONE “Coming as it has done after a recent High Court ruling that the Catholic newspaper, Herald , could use the word ‘Allah’, this latest incident is a most unwelcome development which would only further serve to damage foreign view of Malaysia as a moderate and fair model where freedom of religion is concerned,” said party exco member Elizabeth Wong ( right ) in a statement.

She said the move was a “disservice to the Christian community in Malaysia” that had served the country long and hard even before Independence, in providing education and healthcare “liberally to all regardless of religion, ethnicity and gender”.

“No religious community will ever want to suffer the indignity of having its sacred scriptures banned and prohibited as though it is some seditious material or a contraband product considered immoral,” said the Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson.

“That this has being done repeatedly over so many years is an affront and insult to the religious community concerned and raises very serious questions about the status of religious freedom and respect for other religions in our country.”