Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim will meet the sultan following the Selangor Islamic Council's (Mais) refusal to return 300 copies of the Bible it confiscated from a church despite the Attorney-General Chamber's decision to close the case.

 

"The state government will try to come to an agreement before seeking an audience with the Selangor sultan for the final word (on the matter)," Khalid said in a statement this evening.

 

Khalid said he will first meet with state mufti Mohd Tamyes Abd Wahid, exco in charge of Islamic affairs Sallehen Sukhyi, state legal advisor Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman and representatives from Mais and Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais).

 

He said a discussion among the various parties will be held next week before he seeks an audience with the sultan, who is the head of Islam under the state constitution.

 

Jais, which comes under Mais, had in January raided the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) and confiscated over 300 Malay and Iban language copies of the Bible which contained the word "Allah" in reference to God.

 

The religious authority claimed the holy books violated Section 9(1)(a) of the Non-Islamic Religion (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988, which outlaws the use of the word "Allah" for non-Muslims.

 

The Attorney-General's Chambers on Wednesday said it will not proceed with the case as it did not think the enactment applied to the holy books and advised Jais to consult the state cabinet and its legal advisor on how to deal with the confiscated items.

 

The following day, the state government instructed Jais to return the holy books to BSM but a defiant Mais today criticised the Attorney-General's Chambers for not taking action and said it will not comply with the cabinet’s order.

 

It added that whether the seized copies of the Bible were to be returned or destroyed was up to the courts to decide.

Mais, as the state's Islamic authority, said that it answers only to the sultan and not to the state nor federal government.

Likewise, it applies to Jais, the enforcement body that reports to Mais.