The Selangor exco member for Islamic affairs Sallehen Mukhyi, in a cautiously worded statement today, urged the public to abide by the Selangor sultan's decree in the wake of a raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).

"The state government takes the same position as the Selangor sultan that all parties must respect Islam as the official religion while non-Muslims may practice their respective beliefs according to the federal constitution.

"All Selangorians regardless of race or religion must abide by this to ensure harmony, cooperation and respect among one another, something which has been fostered for a long time," he said.

The statement made no mention whether non-Muslims can use the word ‘Allah’ nor does it endorse or condemn the actions of the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais).

Jais had on Thursday raided the Bible Society of Malaysia and confiscated 351 Malay and Iban-language Bibles which used the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God.

Salehen said he viewed the matter "seriously" and had instructed Jais to provide a detailed report about the raid and its ongoing investigation.

He added that Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has instructed that the raid be scrutinised on whether it followed standard operating procedures (SOP) which was drafted after a 2011 incident where Jais raided the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) for allegedly proselytising Muslims.

"The review will among others determine if enforcement officers conducting the operation followed SOP prepared by Jais and relevant action be taken if there is negligence or breach of rules," he said.

Meeting with The Herald

Salehen added that he will be meeting with The Herald editor Lawrence Andrew over the ban of the word 'Allah' for the Catholic weekly.

The Selangor government has treaded gently on the matter while the federal government has jumped to Jais' defence, with Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein insisting that the religious authority was merely following the Selangor sultan's decree.

The Selangor sultan had in 2012 decreed that the word ‘Allah’ was exclusively for Muslims.

The Court of Appeal also argued that the word ‘Allah’ was not integral to the Christian faith. The Catholic Church is appealing the decision.

Meanwhile, Selangor state assembly speaker Hannah Yeoh urged a tougher stance, asking Khalid to take action against Jais officers responsible for the raid.

"Khalid Ibrahim should suspend the Jais officer who ordered raid on BSM without the state's consent. Alkitabs should be returned," she said in a Twitter posting.

MCA: Jais deliberately forgetful?

Meanwhile, MCA religious harmony bureau chief Ti Lian Ker told Jais not to aggravate matters with "limp" excuses about its forgetfulness.

He argued that the raid, involving 20 Jais officers and assisted by the police would have involved long-term planning and its "forgetfulness" would have been deliberate.

He was referring to Jais' explanation that it "forgot" to inform the Selangor government when it conducted the raid after Salehen said the state was unaware of the operation.

"Stop assuming that Malaysians, already outraged with such a heinous misdeed which only serves to fracture interfaith relations deeper, are a bunch of clueless, naive lot,” he said in a statement today.

He urged Jais to stop harassing BSM and churches, and encourage interfaith harmony and understanding instead through dialogue.

In addition, he demanded that the Selangor government instruct Jais to drop charges against BSM officers, return all confiscated bibles, and disclose what action would be taken against Jais officers who ordered the raid.

Thus far, no charges have been brought against BSM staff members following the raid , but its chairperson Lee Min Choon and his office manager Sinclair Wong are on police bail.

They were told to report to Jais on Jan 10 to assist investigations under the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988.