Samples of the Bahasa Malaysia and Iban language bibles that were seized by JAIS from the Bible Society of Malaysia office in January. - The Malaysian Insider pic, April 2, 2014.The Selangor government has advised the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) to write to the attorney-general for the return of the Bibles, or Al-Kitab, which were seized by the state religious authorities in January.
Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said today’s exco meeting had agreed that BSM take this course of action to get the 300 Bahasa Malaysia dan Iban language Bibles returned to them.
"We suggest this as under the present circumstances it would be best for them to write to the attorney-general.
“This is also to show that the BSM is keen to get back the seized copies,” he told the media after the weekly exco meeting.
Khalid’s advice to the BSM comes as a surprise as on Monday, Khalid had said the state was in the final stages of finding a solution to the matter.
"Of course it is almost completed, not much longer now," he told reporters when met in Shah Alam on Monday.
The investigation came about after the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) raided the BSM offices in Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya, before leaving with more than 300 copies of the Malay-language Al-Kitab and Iban-language Bup Kudus.
However, Selangor's exco on religion, Sallehan Mukhyi, said the state government was awaiting approval from the Home Ministry.
The case was referred to the attorney-general’s office by Jais after it had completed its investigation earlier.
"Once the green light is given, the seized Al-Kitab and Bup Kudus will be returned to BSM," Sallehan said.
"We have not received any answers from the Home Ministry.
"What we know is that the Attorney-General's Chambers has handed the case over to the ministry and we are waiting for their reply," he told The Malaysian Insider.
Sallehan was optimistic that the issue regarding the return of the seized Bibles could be resolved by the middle of April.
Jais in January sparked a controversy as it had not informed the state government prior to the operation.
Following the incident, Khalid instructed Jais to refer the matter to the Home Ministry.
Jais was also instructed to check whether the distribution of the Al-Kitab and Bup Kudus violated Putrajaya's 10-point solution, which allows the printing and distribution of the Malay-language Bible nationwide.
Under Section 9 of Selangor's Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988, it is an offence for non-Muslims to use certain words, including "Allah", in any writings, publication, public speeches and statements.
BSM president Lee Min Choon told The Malaysian Insider today that Jais had not contacted them over the return of the Bibles.
"We have not approached them as well. We will just wait for them to decide," he said.
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