Selangor Mentri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s distancing himself from the Bible Society of Malaysia’s (BSM) quandary is an injustice and also breaks Pakatan Rakyat’s election promise, a DAP MP warned today.

Chiding MB Khalid’s move yesterday asking BSM to fight for themselves, MP for Serdang Ong Kian Ming said the MB cannot now abdicate his duty to care for the state’s minorities.

Ong ( left ) reminded MB Khalid that he himself had in the past taken the position that such Bibles were allowed under a 10-point agreement, when he ordered the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) to check with the Home Ministry whether their lightning raid to seize 321 copies of the Malay and Iban-language Bible on Jan 2 was a proper action.

To act indifferently now will be akin to backing down, Ong said.

“We want to remind the MB that Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor was given a very strong mandate in the 13th general election based on Pakatan’s promise to govern inclusively, fairly and justly.

“To ask BSM to write directly to the attorney-general and to show their ‘determination and desire’ to seek the return of their Bible copies would be seen as ignoring this election promise,” Ong said in a press statement.

'State supposed to decide next step'

Ong also reminded MB Khalid that he had said that the state will decide on the next course of action after Jais completes its investigations on the matter.

“The MB’s suggestion to BSM to write directly to the attorney-general is especially surprising and a cause of concern given that he was reported to have said as recently as Jan 31 that a resolution to the matter was in the final stages,” Ong said.

Ong reiterated that Jais’s move had clashed not only with the 10-point agreement but also violated Article 11 (3) of the federal constitution, which guaranteed the right to manage one’s own religious affairs.

“We urge the MB to proactively find a solution to this issue by engaging with the key stakeholders including Jais, BSM, the attorney-general and the Home Ministry rather than to pass this responsibility to BSM.

“To show determination and desire to find a fair and just solution to this problem would be the hallmarks of a genuine reformer,” he added.

BSM had reportedly also lashed out at Khalid, saying that the Selangor government is washing its hands off responsibility.

A statement attributed to an unnamed BSM official was published in full in The Malaysian Insider, also states that BSM will not write to the attorney-general as asked by Khalid.

However, when contacted today officials at the BSM office said they are unaware of the purported press statement.