Bishop demands Ibrahim to repudiate 'ban Alkitab' call

Catholic bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing said that the latest remarks made by Perkasa firebrand Ibrahim Ali in calling for the banning of the Malay Bible is the "most flagrant statement yet by a Malay Muslim leader that Christians exist in Malaysia on the sufferance of Muslims."

"This statement must be repudiated by all who care for the state of relations between Muslims and Christians in Malaysia," said the head of the Catholic Church in the Johor-Melaka diocese.

"If the statement is not repudiated, depend upon it that it will lead to yet another step in the ongoing downgrade of Christian Malaysians - from people who are fifth columnists in a Muslim nation, to people who ought to be grateful to Muslims for their existence and finally, heaven forefend, to people who are serfs of Muslims," asserted the Jesuit-trained prelate.

"I contend that this ongoing exercise in downgrading Christians does no credit to Muslims," argued the bishop.

In a speech in Shah Alam on Thursday night, Ibrahim Ali had reportedly called on the government to ban the Alkitab because continued insistence by Christians on using the term ‘Allah' was evidence of their ingratitude to Muslims for the latter's generosity in allowing that the Malay Bible to be circulated in Malaysia.

Last Monday, the Court of Appeal proscribed the use of the term by non-Muslims by ruling that it was exclusive to Muslims.

The Alkitab, which is the Malay version of the Bible, employs the term 'Allah' in its reference to the Christian deity.

The Court of Appeal's ruling has incurred reactions ranging from approbatory to opprobrium, more of the latter than the former, not only in the country but also abroad.

When moderates keep quiet

In hailing the court decision, Perkasa chief Ibrahim called for closure to the issue which he said would result from Christian acquiescence to the court decision.

But the respondents in the court case may not oblige and may want to take the matter to the Federal Court.

"It appears the Perkasa chief will not be content to allow the appeal process to proceed without vilifying Christians," observed bishop Paul Tan.

"Ibrahim has called for the burning of the Bible and now he has called for its banning. This man's intemperance knows no bounds and a government that counsels moderation is content to pay that laudable trait mere lip service rather than the service of concrete demonstration," intoned the bishop.

"This is all part of a downward spiral. When supposed moderates keep quiet, the intemperate are emboldened. You need not be a pessimist to point to where all this would end," he asserted.

"It's mind-boggling that our leaders could allow this situation to deteriorate to this extent. My counsel to Christians is to serenely persist in the belief that the truth will make you free," he concluded.