Herald released in Sabah after Archbishop seeks BN poltician’s help

Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam (pic) had sought the intervention of a Barisan Nasional MP in Sabah while questioning an order from the Home Ministry to stop the distribution of the latest Herald publication in Sabah.

Tuaran MP Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said, in a Facebook posting today, that he had interceded with the Home Ministry on behalf of the Catholic Church to obtain approval for 2,000 copies of Herald to be released in Sabah.

Wilfred, the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) deputy president, said the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur had sought his assistance last night.

"I attempted to contact the Deputy Home Minister to ask that the 2,000 copies, which were being kept at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, be released.

"I was told to contact Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi directly which I tried but in vain. Apparently, Ahmad Zahid is in Jakarta," Wilfred said.

Undeterred, Wilfred sent Ahmad Zahid a text message appealing for the release of the 2,000 Herald copies.

He said sometime this afternoon the Political Secretary to Home Minister, Datuk Abdul Halim Mohammad, informed Wilfred that approval had been obtained and the 2,000 Herald copies had been released.

Numerous East Malaysian Christians commented on the release of the 2,000 Herald copies - thanking, praising and congratulating Wilfred for his assistance.

Many praised him for being a responsible representative of the people and being able to walk the talk.

Some also condemned the Home Ministry for its high-handedness in their postings on Wilfred’s Facebook page.

On Thursday, tensions rose between the Catholic Church and the BN government when Putrajaya stopped the distribution of Herald in Sabah.

Herald editor Reverend Father Lawrence Andrew said the forwarding company had been informed by the Home Ministry that the copies were not to be distributed.

As per regulation, the Home Ministry checked a copy of the weekly Christian newspaper for vetting purposes when it arrived at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

This time, the forwarding company was told that the copies could not be distributed by Home Ministry officials.

Following the release of the 2,000 copies of Herald, Andrew said the Home Ministry should explain its action.

"We need to know why they stopped it in the first place,” he said today.

Sarawak Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing put the decision to stop the distribution of the Herald to Home Ministry officials making decisions in haste without consulting their political leaders.

“They have obviously taken matters into their own hands. I suggest that political leaders must be consulted first before taking actionon matters which had negative socio-political impact,” he said while lamenting that politicians would have to bear the brunt of criticism from the public.

“It will be us, not these government officers,” Masing, a senior Christian minister in the Sarawak cabinet and the Parti Rakyat Sarawak president pointed out.

The Herald issue came to the fore on October 14 when the Court of Appeal ruled that the newspaper was banned from using the word Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia edition.

The ruling has since attracted various comments and feedback, even from Muslim scholars on the international stage.