The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) today said that there will be no prosecution in the case involving the seizure of copies of the Bible from the Bible Society Malaysia last January.
Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said that the case is now closed.
While he does not spell it out clearly, Abdul Gani also appears to have instructed the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) to return the seized holy books.
"The AGC has decided that no prosecution will be made and the case is closed.
"As for the seized books, the AGC requests that Jais take further action in accordance with the law," he said.
He said that after reviewing Jais' investigation papers, the AGC believes that Section 9(1)(a) of the Non-Islamic Religion (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 does not apply to the items seized.
"The statements (in the investigation paper) shows that the seized copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and al-Kitab Berita Baik is a compilation of the Old and New Testaments, and is an essential text for the Christians," he said.
'Not a security threat'
He added that the Home Ministry also told the AGC that the holy books are not a security threat.
The Selangor government had referred the matter to the AGC to determine if the holy books seized shoud be returned.
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (right) said that it will return the holy books if they are cleared by the home ministry and AGC.
Jais had raided BSM and seized 300 copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and Iban, on grounds that they breach the Enactment.
The Enactment places a ban on non-Muslims to use a list of words including 'Allah', which is used in the books to refer to God.
Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said that the case is now closed.
While he does not spell it out clearly, Abdul Gani also appears to have instructed the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) to return the seized holy books."The AGC has decided that no prosecution will be made and the case is closed.
"As for the seized books, the AGC requests that Jais take further action in accordance with the law," he said.
He said that after reviewing Jais' investigation papers, the AGC believes that Section 9(1)(a) of the Non-Islamic Religion (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 does not apply to the items seized.
"The statements (in the investigation paper) shows that the seized copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and al-Kitab Berita Baik is a compilation of the Old and New Testaments, and is an essential text for the Christians," he said.
'Not a security threat'
He added that the Home Ministry also told the AGC that the holy books are not a security threat.
The Selangor government had referred the matter to the AGC to determine if the holy books seized shoud be returned.
Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (right) said that it will return the holy books if they are cleared by the home ministry and AGC.Jais had raided BSM and seized 300 copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia and Iban, on grounds that they breach the Enactment.
The Enactment places a ban on non-Muslims to use a list of words including 'Allah', which is used in the books to refer to God.
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