Prime Minister Najib Razak's statement yesterday that the 10-point solution on Malay bibles was still subject to state laws is either a "great cop out" or has deliberately misled the Christians.

"If the cabinet had wanted the solution to be subjected to state laws, why did the prime minister not say so clearly in the 10-point solution?

"Or is he now buckling under the pressures from Umno hardliners?" asked DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok in a statement today.

"His yesterday’s remarks were a great cop out as he has failed to do what he ought to do as the nation’s prime minister," she said.

She was responding to the PM finally explaining that the cabinet's stand on the contentious 10-point solution that has seen no effect in practice following the seizure of over 300 bibles in Selangor on Jan 2.

Najib, while claiming the federal government stands by its solution promised the Christians in 2011, admitted that the solution was in practice subservient to state laws.

In the early days of the 'Allah' row, a number of BN-led state legislatures passed Islamic enactments banning a number of words from use by Christians, including 'Allah'.

Such enactments are found in most states except Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territories.

The Selangor enactment passed in 1988 allowed its Islamic authorities, acting under the purview of the sultan rather than the state government, to raid the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).

The action had provoked criticism of the cabinet solution, but Najib had sealed his lips until yesterday's Umno supreme council meeting.

While his cabinet claims it stands by the document, Umno grassroots members and their aligned pressure groups have made their resistance clear, as shown by the racially-charged protest yesterday.

Solution of convenience?

Kok asked if Najib was saying the solution was an attempt at political expediency to pacify Sarawak Christians during elections.

"Najib must answer this question or he cannot blame the many netizens who have asked if there was a deliberate attempt to mislead and even deceive the Christian community in 2011 and if the solution was merely announced for political expediency due to the 2011 Sarawak state general election," she said.

Otherwise, she said, it was his duty to ensure that the solution is enforceable nationwide.

"Is it not his responsibility as the prime minister to resolve the problem if he finds that any cabinet decision cannot be implemented in some states due to existing state laws?

"The 10 point solution was a cabinet approved solution. The cabinet has a responsibility to ensure its compliance and workability in all states.

"A cabinet solution must be able to resolve the problem. It cannot become a solution that brings no solution, or worse, creates more problems," said Kok.

Yesterday former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan commended the Najib administration for affirming its stand on the 10-point solution, and urged that the document be entered as a consent order in the Federal Court.

After all, said Ambiga, it was the federal government that had appealed against the High Court ruling of 2010 over Catholic weekly The Herald 's use of 'Allah' in the first place.

Kok, meanwhile' said Najib had a duty to ensure that the cabinet's solution can be implemented.

"The prime minister must by deed prove that he is committed to the 10 -point solution. He must not abdicate his leadership responsibilities.

"He must immediately take the necessary steps to ensure the 10-point solution is a solution implementable in all states," she said.

The 10-point solution document