As the country’s sole importer of Bibles in the Malay language, The Bible Society of Malaysia is in a spot following the seizure of its stock by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) as it fears new stock will also be seized again.
BSM president Lee Min Choon (pic) said the Jais raid had put them in a difficult situation as some 300 Bibles carted away by Jais during their raid last week were the last copies in their stock.
Lee explained today that as a supplier, all imported Bibles of different languages arrive at Port Klang to be cleared by Customs.
"Unfortunately, each time the Bibles come to our office, it is considered as an offence against the laws in Selangor. If this issue is not resolved, we would be exposing ourselves to more Jais raids," he said at a press conference in Petaling Jaya.
"We supply Malay Bibles to more than a million Malay-speaking Christians in Malaysia.
"If you cut off the supply, people would have to resort to smuggling," he said.
The raid by Jais was carried out under the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 which prohibits non-Muslims from using 35 Arabic words, including Allah.
Following last week's raid, Lee said BSM is looking for a "quick solution" and for Jais to return the seized Bibles.
"The Bibles should be returned to BSM and the 10-point solution should be respected," he added.
Putrajaya had entered into an agreement, known as the 10-point solution, with Christian leaders in 2011 which allows Bibles in Malay, Bahasa Indonesia and the indigenous languages of Sabah and Sarawak which carry the word Allah to be used in all churches nationwide.
"The agreement should be honoured, not broken after just two years," said Lee.
The tussle over the word Allah comes after last October's ruling by the Court of Appeal that Catholic weekly Herald could not use the word Allah in its publication. However, the judgment had a far reaching implication with the verdict used as a basis to compel non-Muslims to stop using the Arabic word Allah, which translates as God.
Scholars, however, have clarified that the word Allah has been used for centuries by non-Muslims in reference to God.
Christians make up about 9% of the Malaysian population, or 2.6 million. Almost two-thirds of them are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as Allah in their prayers and holy book.
Besides the Bumiputera Christians from East Malaysia, some of whom have moved to the peninsula to live and work, Orang Asli Christians in the peninsula also typically use Bahasa Malaysia in their worship.
"Let's set the record straight. This is not something recent. It is not about Christians wanting to annoy the Muslims. This is how some of us address God. If you take that away how are they going to connect with their faith?" said Lee.
Despite the raid and arrest by Jais, Lee said that BSM has not looked into taking any legal action against the state Islamic body.
"I believe in offering the hand of friendship rather than showing my fist," he said.
Refuting allegations that the society has been conducting proselytising activities, Lee said: "We are a Bible supplier, we do not engage in propagation."
Lee is expected to meet Jais officers on January 10 in Shah Alam to discuss the matter.
This morning, BSM received another knock on their doors, this time by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) with two officers wanting to check the premises for illegal renovations and extensions.
BSM general-secretary Simon Wong said that in the past five years that he had been with the society, no renovations were carried out.
Wong had refused the officers entry since they had no proper documents.
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