MCA has warned DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang ( below ) against taking the word of Selangor MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim that there will not be another unauthorised raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), saying his promises is no better then “expired food”.

MCA’s Religious Harmony Bureau deputy chairperson Ng Chok Sin said this is because to date, the Selangor government has yet to secure the return of over 300 copies of the Bible, seized by Jais in a raid at the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) in January.

“Ever since the raid on Bible Society of Malaysia, we have repeatedly asked Pakatan Rakyat to guarantee the return of the bibles, and despite their promise of a deadline to resolve the issue, nothing was done. Thus, it is clear that Pakatan has no credibility,” Ng said in a statement today.

He pointed out that Khalid had previously assured the public copies of the Malay and Iban-language Bible taken during the raid would be returned within six months, but that deadline has since “expired”.

“Throughout this entire time, Selangor Pakatan (government) had repeatedly tried to pass the buck onto the federal government and the Attorney-General’s Chambers .

“They had also attempted to shift public attention from their wrongdoings by claiming that a new standard operation procedure will be enforced onto Jais, but nothing was ever mentioned about the bibles,” he said.

“Thus, we can foresee that there will also be no solution to the recent interruption of a Hindu wedding by Jais despite the many promises made by Pakatan leaders, as their promises are no better than expired food.”

Aside from the assurance of no more unauthorised raids, Khalid yesterday had also promised to meet with the attorney-general if Jais still does not release the confiscated copies of the Bible within a month.

However, Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang joined his MCA counterpart in pouring cold water on the promise, pointing out that the power to release the holy book lies with the state government as Jais is a state agency.

“The attorney-general has nothing to do with the seizure of the Christian Bible by Jais and the matter is not within the attorney-general’s jurisdiction.

 

“This matter can be resolved within 24 hours if there’s a will on the part of the Pakatan Selangor government,” he said in a statement today.

Tan said this has damaged the integrity of the Selangor government.

Pakatan leaders 'not smart'

Khalid' yesterday said that Jais has been warned not to conduct any more raids on non-Muslim events or premises after it crashed a Hindu wedding on Sunday and took the bride away for questioning.

The bride, 32-year-old Zarina Abdullah Majid, had later claimed that although born and raised a Hindu, her father had registered her and her siblings as Muslim but he has long since left the family.

She said her previous attempts to have her religion changed by the National Registration Department proved futile.

Lim had then called upon Khalid to prove his seriousness in helping the bride change her religious status by setting up a special committee, comprising Jais, to ensure this gets done.

However, Ng said that Khalid’s assurance is “completely unreliable” and said the fact that Lim chooses to believe the MB reflects that Pakatan leaders are “either not smart, or that they are only employing a delay tactic in order to divert the people’s attention from the issue”.