Cabinet ministers today pledged their support for the 10-point agreement on the use of ‘Allah’ in Christian literature, adding that civil servants should also comply with the agreement. – The Malaysian Insider pic, October 31, 2014.
Cabinet ministers today unanimously pledged their support for the 10-point agreement on the use of "Allah" in Christian literature and reiterated the need to protect religious materials, said Tan Sri Joseph Kurup.
The minister in charge of unity also said the cabinet wanted civil servants to comply strictly with the 10-point agreement.
The issue was raised at the cabinet meeting today after it was reported that customs officers seized Christian books and CDs containing the word “Allah” belonging to a Sabahan Christian at klia2 in Sepang last Saturday.
The 10-point agreement drawn up before the Sarawak state elections in 2011 provided for Bibles in all languages to be imported, including those in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia which contained the word “Allah”.
The 10-point solution also allowed for the printing, importation and distribution of the Alkitab, the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Bible.
Kurup said in a statement today that efforts were being made to ensure the Christian books and CDs are returned to its owner.
"We will do our best to ensure the books and CDs are returned as we are totally committed to the 10-point agreement.
"We are making the necessary efforts to have the books and CDs returned as soon as possible to the owner."
The Malaysian Insider reported today that the owner of the CDs and books is Maklin Masiau, a pastor who was detained and questioned for 40 minutes by customs officers before his books and CDs were seized last Saturday.
He was returning to Kota Kinabalu from Medan, Indonesia, through the airport in Sepang.
Masiau (pic, left) posted on his Facebook page that he was now prepared for the long process of getting the authorities to release the materials.
“I know the football game had just started.”
In June, the Federal Court dismissed the Catholic church's application for appeal to use the word in its weekly publication Herald, saying the Court of Appeal was right in its decision to ban the word "Allah" from the being used in the weekly.
The church is asking for a review of the Federal Court decision.
Christians form about 9% of Malaysia's 29-million population. Almost two-thirds of Christians in Malaysia are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak.
They use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as “Allah” in their prayers and holy book.
The Orang Asli Christians in the peninsula also use Bahasa Malaysia in their worship.
- TMI
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.