Selangor palace played big role in return of bibles, say insiders
As published in Malay Mail today
Selangor palace played big role in return of bibles, say insiders
By Haresh Deol
KLANG
— The Selangor palace played an instrumental role in ensuring the
return of 321 bibles seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM)
during a raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on Jan
2, sources said.
Insiders, who were in the thick of the
negotiations involving the palace, Jais, Selangor Islamic Religious
Council (Mais) and Christian groups, said talks were held months
earlier, even during Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's tenure as menteri besar
but stalled because of the power struggle in the state.
Khalid was later replaced by Azmin Ali as menteri besar.
“There
were many meetings, rounds of negotiations … all done under wraps so as
to not offend any party. It was supposed to be concluded earlier but
the menteri besar crisis delayed it as the palace was preoccupied," the
source close to the palace said.
“This matter dragged on for too long and that was never the intention."
Azmin, in a statement yesterday, said he pledged to have the bibles returned to the Christians as they belonged to them.
He
also stressed all parties must respect the status of Islam as the state
religion, and that "extremist sentiments, race baiting and religious
fanaticism will not be part of the administration of the state".
MIC
Youth leader C. Sivarraajh, who congratulated Azmin, said in a
statement that the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman "found a solution
which Khalid could not".
Another source said: “It was not one
man's effort. In fact the palace did a lot to reach the amicable
solution. The main objective was to send a clear message to all, that
religion — Islam, Christianity and others — must be respected.”
He said the confiscation of the bibles was a “sensitive issue that had to be treated carefully”.
“Even the press releases issued
(yesterday) by Mais and the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) had to be worded properly as to not offend any party.”
“Hopefully this will set a precedent.”
The
Bahasa Malaysia and Iban language bibles, which contained the word
“Allah”, were handed to ACS at Istana Alam Shah yesterday.
Mais
chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa gave the bibles to Bishop of
Kuching, Reverend Datuk Bolly Lapok, during the ceremony. Present at the
handing over were Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Azmin.
The bibles were returned despite calls by certain extremist groups to destroy or burn the holy books.
Political parties, namely DAP, Pas and PKR, were informed of the negotiations.
“Top
leaders from DAP, PKR and Pas have accepted this solution but there is
concern that the move (of returning the bibles) may not go down well
with some of their members," the source said.
He also did not
rule out the possibility of Malay-Muslim hardliners coming down hard on
Jais, Mais and even the Selangor palace for resorting to such a move.
“But it is something we have to live with. The end objective is for there to be mutual respect among each other,” he said.
***
Authorities: It's about respect
KLANG
— The return of seized bibles to the Christian community in Sarawak is
to respect each other’s religious beliefs, said Selangor Islamic
Religious Council (Mais).
Its chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib
Mohd Isa, in a press statement yesterday, said Mais was commanded by
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah to “dispose of these bibles containing the
world 'Allah' by returning them to the Association of Churches in
Sarawak (ACS)”.
“The return of these bibles is made with the
strict condition that bibles containing the word ‘Allah’ are not to be
distributed in Selangor, especially to Muslims and these bibles are only
for the usage of Christians in Sarawak,” he said.
The
statement also said the Selangor ruler expected people of other faiths
to respect and protect religious sensitivities of Muslims in the
country.
“The distribution as well as the printing of bibles
that contain the word ‘Allah’ is no longer done in Selangor as it is an
offence under the Non-Islamic Religious Enactment (Control Development
Among Muslims) 1988,” the statement read.
In a separate statement, ACS said it was grateful “for the intervention of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah”.
“HRH
(Sultan Sharafuddin) and ACS were keen to see an end to the impasse
surrounding these bibles containing the word 'Allah' based on a
practical and common sense solution which recognised the use and
distribution of bibles containing the world 'Allah' is against state
(Selangor) laws,” it said.
“It would not have been proper to
allow these bibles containing the word ‘Allah’ to be stored indefinitely
or alternatively destroyed.
“In this manner, these bibles
containing the world ‘Allah’ are being delivered to ACS for their
distribution and use within the Christian community of Sarawak.”
The
ACS said it accepted the resolution, adding it hoped the spirit of
compromise underlying the resolution may be viewed as a step towards
enhancing interfaith understanding and harmony in the country.
“Let
us work together to respect and celebrate the rich diversity of
Malaysians in being able to set an example to the world as to how to
live harmoniously together in a multiracial country in accordance with
the nation’s laws and constitution,” said the statement, which was
signed by Bishop of Kuching, Reverend Datuk Bolly Lapok.
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