Selangor returns seized copies of Bible
After close to a year, the Selangor government has finally returned the copies of the Bible seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).
After close to a year, the Selangor government has finally returned the copies of the Bible seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).
Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali, who tweeted that an "amicable solution" has been found, also posted a photograph of himself and the sultan being present at an event to hand over the Bibles.
In a statement this afternoon, Azmin said the all 351 copies of the Bible were handed over to the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS), on behalf of BSM, at Istana Alam Shah, Klang this morning.
This comes as ACS chaiprerson Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok, ACS secretary-general Ambrose Linang and Council of Churches of Malaysia secretary-general Herman Shastri paid a courtesy call on the sultan.
“Firstly, I want to register the highest appreciation and gratitude to His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor for his foresight and initiative in seeking the best way to resolve this long-standing problem.
“All parties concerned in particular the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) and the ACS have therefore reached an amicable resolution of the Bible issue through sincere efforts and conviction to respect religious sensitivities of all communities,” said Azmin.
Azmin reiterated that his government will “pursue all means possible” to enhance and foster communal and religious understanding in the state.
“As I have said before, all parties must respect the status of Islam as the state religion.
“However, as freedom of religion is enshrined in the constitution, extremist sentiments, race-baiting and religious fanaticism will not be part of the administration of the state of Selangor,” he said.
Enactment bars non-Muslims
Also present were state secretary Mohammed Khusrin Munawi, Selangor mufti Mohd Tamyes Abd Wahid, Mais chairperson Mohammad Adzib Mohd Isa and Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) director Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad.
The bibles were seized by Jais in a raid on BSM's premises on Jan 2.
The raid followed a complaint that BSM was housing copies of the Malay-language Bible, which used the word 'Allah' to refer to God.
The Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 bars non-Muslims from using 'Allah' and over 20 other words.
The issue has been a thorn in the Selangor government’s side, placing then-menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim in a quandary.
Azmin, who took over from Khalid on Sept 23, had promised to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang hailed the resolution and congratulated Azmin for bringing an end to the saga.
"There is urgent need for Malaysians to avoid narrow communalism which could go against the spirit of a Malaysian community, in fact (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak's 1Malaysia signature policy and to give national substance and relevance to his Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) initiative.
"It is time for Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or politics, to take pro-active steps to arrest the serious polarisation both of race and religion which had beset the country and created serious national divisions and discord in the country," he said.
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