PKR Wanita chief Zuraida Kamaruddin said BN leaders are focusing on the wrong target by ordering that the 30,000 copies of the Malay-language Bible be stamped with 'For Christians Only' and issued with serial numbers.

NONE The shipment, which arrived from Indonesia on Jan 11, is now being kept at the Home Ministry’s office at Jalan Satok in Kuching.

The consignee had refused to collect the Bible after they were stamped by the ministry’s officials.

The Bible is meant for distribution to churches, longhouses, hotels and schools in Sarawak.

“The BN-Umno leaders should concentrate on wiping out corruption, abuse of power, leakages of public funds and outflow of illicit funds from Malaysia,” she told reporters at the Kuching waterfront today.

“These are sinful issues that the BN-Umno leaders must try to get rid off."

bukit antarabangsa landslide 071209 zuraida kamaruddin Zuraida ( left ) asked what had happened to police and MACC reports lodged against Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

She wanted to know whether the police or MACC were investigating Taib for abuse of power and corruption.

“This is the thing that the people want the government, especially the BN-Umno leaders, to do,” she added.

Zuraida said issues on corruption and abuse of power by Taib would be raised by PKR in the coming elections.

“These issues are very pertinent to the people as corruption and abuse of power involved public funds.

“The Sarawakians must stand up on these issues and do the necessary thing by voting out the BN from power,” she added.

On the Bible issue, she said there was nothing wrong for non-Christians to read it.

“If you want to know what are the thinking of the Christians, then reading the Bible is one of the ways,” she added.

‘Similarities with the Quran’

Zuraida admitted that she herself reads the Malay-language Bible as well as the publications of other religions.

“Yes, I do read the Bible. To me, it is very interesting comparison and there are similarities with the Quran, except for a few other things,” she added.

“Reading the Bible does not make me less Muslim,” she stressed, adding that it should not be a cause of racial disharmony in the country.

She said it was good for non-Christians to read the Bible so they could understand and appreciate each other.

“So there is no need to remove a crucifix when visiting the church, just like an incident when the crucifix was removed when the prime minister visited a church sometime ago.

“I think that was silly because it shows that you do not understand the religion well. It does not make you less Muslim by standing behind the crucifix,” she said.

“For political purposes, it is not right to remove the crucifix. It does not reflect whether you are a good Muslim,” she added.

Zuraida also applauded the church group’s decision not to collect the 30,000 copies of the Malay Bible.

“The government cannot just impose conditions on Christians,” she said.