MCA today urged the government to deliberate immediately on the seizure of Malay Bibles at two ports in the country.

mca post cc meeting pc 130311 chua soi lek President Dr Chua Soi Lek ( left ) said the Home Ministry should make a decision on the matter so that the Bibles can be released back to their owners soon.

Speaking at a press conference after chairing a central committee and presidential council meeting, this this afternoon.

Chua said the attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail should also weigh in on the matter.

Chua’s call comes after Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today that the seizure of the Malay-language Bibles was made in relation to the Catholic publication The Herald.

The government had appealed a Kuala Lumpur High Court decision over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by the Malay-language edition of the publication.

Hishammuddin was also reported as saying that the attorney-general has been asked for his views on the issue.

A Malaysian Christian family leaves a church after a Sunday service in Petaling Jaya Chua also said the issue would raise speculations and would be exploited by irresponsible quarters.

Chua also cited as comparison an incident at a secondary school in which its acting headmistress was transferred within 24 hours’ notice earlier this month.

Chua said he believed the transfer was somehow related to the ‘Bible Knowledge’ lessons that the headmistress - who had been attached to the SK Damansara Jaya school for almost 25 years - had given.

Ruth Cheah Kah Yok’s transfer was “was apparently due to her role in teaching Bible knowledge to Form Five students who had registered for the SPM Bible knowledge paper this year," Chua alleged.

Chua said the move was unjustifiable and uncalled for, as Ruth Cheah had been teaching the topic after school on a voluntary basis.

NONE He said the issue was brought up by a central committee member. Chua said he had directed the party’s Youth chief to rectify the matter.

"Bible Knowledge is a legitimate SPM paper set by Ministry of Education. The marks from the SPM Bible Knowledge paper count towards the overall SPM score.", he said, and called on the Ministry of Education to rescind the transfer order.

Education Deputy Minister Wee Ka Siong ( left ), meanwhile, said he had directed the department's director general Abdul Ghafar Mahmud to investigate and submit a report.

He declined to comment on the reasons for Ruth Cheah's transfer.

On the EGM held earlier today, Chua said the party’s central committee meeting has endorsed the meeting's resolution to postpone the party poll. He stressed, however, that the party still needs to hold an AGM this year.