Bible issue turns into political football

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YOURSAY ‘So who's going to bell that out of order and very ‘naughty’ cat?’

 

Refer Bible issue to court, sultan orders Jais

 

Magnus: Those bibles were unlawfully misappropriated and are now classified as ‘stolen’ property.

 

They were ‘stolen’ from the Bible Study of Malaysia (BSM) premises by those from Selangor Department of Islamic Affairs (Jais) under the direct orders of those at Selangor Islamic Council (Mais).

 

So those at Jais and Mais who were involved in that action have committed the crime of theft and can be lawfully charged and prosecuted under the secular civil law's Penal Code. So who's going to bell that out of order and very "naughty" cat?

 

Jais may have an excuse and say they were - like the now riding on the horns of a dilemma inspector-general of police (IGP) - left to hold and administer the dirty cans of religious worms. But Mais has no such excuse to offer for their wrong actions.

 

What is worse for them is that they have now dragged the constitutional ruler/sultan into the unholy mess they have created and caused him to overstep his constitutional boundaries, resulting in a serious and delicate problem for the state executive head, MB Khalid Ibrahim.

 

We will have a mother of a constitutional crisis if the judges who sit in the civil and syariah courts are one and the same people and worse, are doing those constitutional and unconstitutional functions simultaneously under the federal civil law structure.

 

The Article 121 (1) and 121 (1A) conflicting spanners in the secular constitutional judicial works is causing a breakdown in our rule of law.

 

Raja Chulan: The attorney-general had said that there is no case (no crime) and therefore no prosecution. This means that Jais’ action in raiding and confiscating the bibles in the first place were indeed wrong and illegal.

 

Simply put, Jais had trespassed into BSM premises and stolen these bibles. Jais should rightly apologise to BSM and repent. This is what a gentleman would do under these circumstances.

 

Instead, we see a whole lot of 'wayang' from various parties in this saga. I’m really sick of Malaysia.

 

Whatif: I cannot grasp the situation. If AG has said no case, the public prosecutor cannot initiate any court proceedings and as such, the items must be returned to the rightful owner. How could they try to dispose of items which are not considered illegal? Beats me.

 

Senior Citizen: Come on, Jais and Mais. You have made an absolute fool of yourselves.

 

Firstly, you have committed a wrong against the Christian community by trespassing into Christian premises where the holy books were stored. You had no business being there.

 

Next, you committed theft of the holy books belonging to Christians. You committed a crime from which you were trying to unwind yourself by giving all sorts of absurd excuses. You disobeyed the MB, the AG and everybody else because you wanted to absolve yourself from your crime.

 

Now you have got yourself trapped in a no-win situation. You have antagonised everybody except yourself. I say that the BSM has been incredibly patient and truly Christian-like with their patience. 

 

Now this slap on your face by HRH (His Royal Highness) surely condemns you as a criminal and you have no more sympathisers left. You now have to face the full brunt of the courts and you could end up with huge costs with countersuits for trespassing. 

 

Quigonbond: "Those who are not directly involved should refrain from making any irresponsible comments or meddle in the situation and worsening it further," said the Selangor sultan.

 

I find the remark puzzling. It means those who are directly involved can make stupid comments, and those who are not involved, though enlightened, cannot make comments?

 

Proarte: The syariah courts do not have jurisdiction over Christians. In the first place it was illegal for Jais to confiscate the bibles because it is a clear case of interference and religious persecution of non-Muslims, which is unconstitutional.

 

Jais cannot use the 1988 Selangor state enactment prohibiting the use of the word ‘Allah’ as justification because it, too conflicts with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of worship and the fact that non-Muslims should be allowed to worship in peace and harmony.

 

The only relevant courts which are valid are the civil courts. The sultan has been badly advised by MB Khalid because the AG has already said there is no case for the BSM to answer so the sultan's instructions to Jais to refer the case to the courts is redundant.

 

It will serve only to prolong the division in our society over this charade. Khalid has shown himself to be weak and indecisive in his handling of this issue and has lost the respect of the people of Selangor.

 

Fair Play: I suppose, HRH Sultan of Selangor, in his infinite wisdom has decided that the civil court should decide on the matter.

 

What is even more significant is that HRH has implicitly declared that in religious matters involving non-Muslims, Mais and Jais, in carrying out their duties, must respect the rights of the non-Muslim communities and such matters must be resolved in the civil court.

 

This decision by HRH is far superior than amending the said Act, the way I see it.

 

ONG: Yesterday MB Khalid said that his discussion with the Selangor sultan on the Bible issue was " encouraging ". It looks like Khalid has a peculiar and strange understanding of the word "encouraging".

 

Abasir: It’s football season. And the sick game of passing the ball continues. Only in this game, there is no referee, there are no rules and there is only one team with people on the sidelines threatening to invade the pitch if the ball is not passed.

 

Single Malt: AG kicks ball to CC (civil court), CC passes ball to IGP. IGP then passes ball  to SC (syariah court). The matter goes to referee, the sultan.

 

Sultan kicks it back to Court, not sure whether CC or SC. The game continues. It's now half time. The fans are agitated and are threatening to enter the field.


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