The insistence of the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) in seizing copies of the Bible with the word 'Allah' blatantly defies the attorney-general's (AG) findings and must be reined in, says a Selangor assemblyperson.

 

"We ask that MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim be firm in his duty to reign in the recalcitrant Mais. 

 

"If Mais continues to defy the state government, the AG's Chambers and the rule of law, then the menteri besar must act by amending the necessary legislations to neuter the excessive authority of Mais," Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran ( right ) said in a statement last night.

 

Rajiv was responding to Mais chairperson Mohamad Adzib Mohd Is, who said yesterday that the Islamic authority would continue to seize any Bible in the state that uses the banned word.

 

This despite the AG's finding that the holy books seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) earlier this year did not break any law, as these were not used to propagate Christianity to Muslims.

 

To date, Mais has not produced any evidence to back its claim that the Malay and Iban copies of the Bible could be used to convert Muslims.

 

The Selangor state enactment on the banned words, such as 'Allah', were put in place nationwide under BN's rule of the respective states, and it is proving to be a major headache for Khalid's administration in Pakatan-led Selangor.

On the one hand, BN's non-Muslim parties are pressuring Khalid to act in favour of BSM, while on the other, pro-government Islamic pressure groups are ever ready to attack him for allegedly acting against the interests of Islam.

 

Mais 'perpetuating lawlessness'

Rajiv said the Bible using the world 'Allah' is not the threat, as Mais claims, but the Islamic authority itself was, by "perpetuating lawlessness".

 

"Statements such as (that of Mais) are shocking and frightening, as Mais and its head Adzib ( right ) clearly show utter disregard and disrespect for the rule of law, the AG’s Chambers, and the state government.

 

"The AG has already ruled that the seized Bible copies do not violate any law and are not a threat to national security, as what the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) has erroneously alleged.

 

"However, the fact that Mais feels that it has every right to destroy the seized holy books of Christians, if it chooses to do so, shows that it is not the Bible that threatens the peace and security of the country but Mais itself," Rajiv said.

 

"It must be emphasised that no person or body, government or otherwise, is above the law. 

 

"By persisting in the seizure and confiscation of the Al-Kitab, despite having no case for prosecution, is an act perpetuating lawlessness," he said.

 

Khalid therefore owed it to the Selangor citizens, who had voted for Pakatan Rakyat, to "act justly and swiftly for Malaysians", regardless of their race or religion.

 

"If Mais continues to defy the state government, the A's Chambers and the rule of law, then the menteri besar must act by amending the necessary legislation to neuter the excessive authority of Mais," Rajiv added.

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