PETALING JAYA, April 14 – The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) remains unconvinced with the government’s 10-point solution to the Alkitab row, calling it “ad hoc and short term” and pointing out that it still did not address the impasse over the use of the word “Allah”.
The Najib administration had come up with the solution on April 11, ahead of elections in Sarawak, the state with the most number of Christians.
“We consider the 10-point solution to be an ad hoc and short term solution to the two consignments of Alkitab which have been impounded at Port Klang and Port of Kuching,” CFM president Ng Moon Hing told reporters here.
Ng explained that while the 10-point solution had dealt with the impounding of the Alkitab, it had failed to address the root cause of Christian discontent – the prohibition of publications containing the word “Allah”.
He then cited three laws which were the root cause of the “problem”:
• The 1982 prohibition of Alkitab and 1983 prohibition of “Perjanjian Baru” under the Internal Security Act on the grounds that the Alkitab is prejudicial to national security interests of Malaysia;
• The 1986 administrative order prohibiting the use of the term “Allah” in Christian publications on the grounds of “public order” and prevention of misunderstanding betwen Muslims and Christians;
• The Home Ministry’s guidelines of publications on the control of Quranic texts (Garis panduan bahagian kawalan dan penerbitan buku teks Al-Quran) prohibiting the use of Allah.
“The 1country 2 policies is confusing and unacceptable,” said Ng today.
Faced with an unyielding Christian community days ahead of a crucial state poll in Sarawak, the government offered early this month a 10-point solution to the Alkitab impasse which will allow the Bible to be freely distributed across the country in all languages.
The Cabinet offered a new list of suggestions to put an end to the month-long stand-off over 35,000 Alkitab seized by the Home Ministry in a bid to head off a possible backlash against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) during Saturday’s vote by Christians who make up half the population in Sarawak.
However, it insisted that Malay-language bibles in the peninsula be marked with a cross and “Christian Publication” on the front cover.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also gave his assurance yesterday that his administration would never again impound bibles.
But Muslim groups and leaders have accused the government of capitulating to pressure from Christians and failing to uphold Islamic laws and dignity.
The Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religions Enactment bars non-Muslims from using Allah to refer to God as is done in the Alkitab.
The law applies in all states besides Sabah, Sarawak, Penang and the federal territories.
“We reiterate that the Bible is our holy scripture and it is our right to read study and pray with it in the language of our choice, as freedom of religion is enshrined under Federal Constitution,” said Ng today.
He then referred to item 9 of the 10-point solution which “reiterates the government’s commitment to address religious issues.”
“The government should therefore take immediate steps to remove root causes by revoking clauses made under the ISA and the administrative order and to amend the garis panduan (guidelines) to remove the prohibition,” the CFM chairman added.
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