PKR MP for Wanga Maju Dr Tan Kee Kwong hailed Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali’s success at obtaining the return of Malay and Iban language Bibles that were seized last January as “an example of what can be done by firm and decisive leadership”.

The seizure of a consignment of 351 Bibles by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) from the premises of the Bible Society of Malaysia on Jan 2 had aggravated long-simmering tensions between right-wing Muslim groups and Christians in the country.

Tan, past chairperson of the PKR disciplinary board which last August sacked former Selangor menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim from the party for recalcitrance, said new MB Azmin has shown “leadership qualities not readily available in the inter-religious arena”.

“I hope Nancy Shukri takes heed of Azmin Ali,” said Tan, a practicing Christian whose father Dr Tan Chee Koon was renowned for infusing his political convictions with Christian morality, a blend that made him a paragon in Malaysian politics.

Nancy Shukri is the de facto law minister in the Prime Minister’s Department who waded into stormy waters by defending the attorney-general’s decision not to prosecute Pekasa chief Ibrahim Ali for sedition over his threat to burn Malay language Bibles which employed the term ‘Allah’ for God.

Emerging from a Sarawakian milieu regarded as more emollient on religious matters than the case on the peninsula, Nancy courted controversy by saying the AG’s view was that Ibrahim’s threat was not seditious as he was defending the sanctity of law.

Nancy became the target of fusillades fired by detractors not only on the peninsula but also from Sarawak and Sabah.

“Azmin has shown Nancy how to tread the fine line between respect for Islam as the official religion of the federation and protection of minority rights and sensitivities,” said Tan.

“I say ‘Bravo Azmin’,” said the delighted politician.