Malaysian government urged to release confiscated bibles
KUALA LUMPUR (APEN) – An ecumenical body has called for the immediate release of the 15, 000 Bahasa Malaysia bibles “withheld” by the government.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) in a 4 November media statement said that withholding the Bhasa Malaysia is “an infringement of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution which gives every Malaysian the right to profess his/her faith as well as to practice it,” and added, “This constitutional right is rendered illusory if Christians are denied access to Bibles in a language with which they are familiar.”
The authorities confiscated the Bahasa Malaysia bibles in Sarawak state on Borneo Island, depriving Christians in Sabah, Sarawak and Semenanjung, who use the national language Bahasa Malaysia, the right to use the holy scriptures and to practice and profess their faith and spirituality.
“It is baseless to withhold the Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia on the ground that they are ‘prejudicial to public order’” the statement signed by Bishop Ng Moon Hing, chairman of the CFM said.
He noted that Bible in Bahasa has been in use from pre-independence days of the country and has “never been the cause of any public disorder.”
Christians in Malaysia have received their education in Bahasa Malaysia since the 1970s and to deny the same Christians the right to read and study the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia is “ridiculous and offensive” and also “an affront to good public order,” the CFM said.
It demanded explanation from the concerned government officials who have no authority or right to act in this “unconscionable manner.”
The ecumenical body called on the government to “walk the talk of its [one] Malaysia policy and vision and not to curtail or impose conditions on the freedom of citizens to worship, pray and read the Holy Scriptures in Bahasa Malaysia.”
“How can the first pillar of the Rukunegara i.e. Belief In God, be made a living reality in the lives of Malaysians if the government imposes restrictions and conditions on the constitutional and fundamental right of citizens to freedom of religion?” it asked.
The CFM recalled the letters it exchanged previously with the government and the December 2005 agreement that Bahasa Malaysia bibles can be distributed so long as the symbol of the cross and the words “A Christian publication” are printed on the front page.
The churches in Malaysia have always been committed to “Bahasa Malaysia as our national language and have used and continue to use Bahasa Malaysia in the life and witness of our Churches and Christian organizations.”
Reverend Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia said that the church uses the Bible and it is part of the worshipper’s life and there is no reason why it should be confiscated.
According to Shastri, 15,000 bibles imported from Indonesia were confiscated because they use the word Allah as a translation for God which is banned in the country.
Dr Shastri dismissed the suggestion of Islamic officials that bibles could be used to convert Muslims who make up 60% of the 27 million people in this south-east Asian nation.
The Catholic Church has waged a legal battle with the Malaysian government over the use of the word Allah as a translation for God.
The government has argued that the word Allah should be used only by Muslims in the country where Christians make up about ten per cent of the population.
