Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said he is still waiting to be briefed on the state's controversial Bible seizure before weighing in on the issue.
 
"I have yet to get an explanation from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais).
 
"We will still discuss the matter. What we had focused on over the past week was on water and a few other issues," he said when asked by reporters during his Hari Raya Aidiladha open house this morning.
 
He added that it is unfair to comment on the matter until he receives information from the two religious authorities.
 
Two weeks ago, upon being sworn into office, Azmin had pledged to review the seizure of the Bibles and several other decisions made under his predecessor Abdul Khalid Ibrahim's administration.

Jais had seized the 321 Malay and Iban language copies of the Bible containing the word 'Allah' in January from the Bible Society of Malaysia’s (BSM) office.

The attorney-general had directed that "no further action" would be taken against BSM, but Jais and Mais had refused to return the copies.

Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had said that the matter should be referred to the court to decide whether to return or destroy the copies.

Final stages of deciding state budget

On another matter, Azmin said the state executive council is in the final stages of deciding on the state's budget, which is to be tabled in November.

"At the state level, we are still discussing our budget for 2015. Certainly at the preliminary level, we thought that the state should spend more on development to give back to the rakyat.

"This is at the final stage. We will have a decision on Wednesday… I am not in a position to disclose at this moment, but certainly every single cent of the state budget will be turned into development for the people of Selangor," he added.

He reiterated that housing and education would be the main focus of the upcoming state budget.

At his open house in Taman Keramat, Ampang, hundreds showed up for the Aidiladha celebrations while a four-person band played on stage.

As for the new menteri besar, Azmin spent only few moments in his seat. Instead, much of his morning was spent going from table-to-table to greet his guests. He was also accompanied by his wife Shamsidar Taharin.

Among the prominent personalities present today include Selangor DAP chief Tony Pua and PKR vice-president Tian Chua.