MCA was among those responsible for passing the legislation banning non-Muslims from using the word ‘Allah’ in Selangor, thus it does not have morale standing to criticise the fallout, says Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua.

 

"It is the very enactment which was passed by BN - with the full support of MCA - which is giving rise to the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department's (Jais) assertiveness today in curbing the rights of the non-Islamic religions," he said in a statement today.

 

Pua is referring to the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 which was used by Jais to justfy its raid against the Bible Society of Malaysia and confiscation of copies of the Bible containing the word 'Allah' on Jan 2.

 

"Twenty-five years ago, MCA failed in their duties to protect the constitutionally enshrined freedom of religion for the non-Muslims. Malaysians today are paying the price of their folly.

 

"Hence, MCA has no moral right to lay blame on the current state government which is working hard to pick up the pieces," said Pua.

 

Pua noted that Section 9 of the enactment not only bans the word ‘Allah’ for non-Muslims, but also 33 other words, while Section 11 and 12 allow for an authorised officer to seize all relevant evidences and arrest without warrant whoever is deemed to have breached the ban.

 

"To top it all, the enactment actually grants Jais officers near-total autonomy to take actions as they see fit without having to consult the exco. 

 

"It is this law that allows the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) to thumb its nose at the exco, claiming that the exco has no authority to impose even a standard operating procedure on raids by Jais," he stressed.

 

Pua also blasted MCA president Liow Tiong Lai for preaching to the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government about BN building tolerance and harmony, despite his party being complicit in passing an unconstitutional law.

 

'MCA must atone for its sins'

 

Now, Pua said, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has had to pick up the pieces and attempt to offer a non-political and non-partisan solution to the quagmire.

 

Abdul Khalid had asked Jais to return the seized copies of the Bible if it is in compliance with the federal government's 10-point solution.

 

The 10-point solution allows for copies of the Bible with the word 'Allah' to be freely circulated in Sabah and Sarawak while those in the peninsula require a "For Christians Only" stamp.

 

Instead of preaching, Pua said MCA should convince the federal government to stand by the 10-point solution and condemn Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar for speaking against the return of the Bible copies.

 

"Anything less than a directive by the Najib (Abdul Razak) administration for all civil servants to abide by the 10-point agreement, and the continued inflammatory actions taken by Umno leaders will only prove... that MCA has not only failed to defend the rights of the non-Muslims in this country, it is also completely impotent in atoning for its past sins," he noted.