Search This Blog

Friday, October 31, 2014

Seizure of Christian materials a violation of Malaysia Agreement

The pastor whose Christian books and CDs containing the word “Allah” were seized by Customs officers at klia2 in Sepang last Saturday, said he has been cheated of his rights as a Sabahan to practise his religion as promised in the Malaysia Agreement.

The Customs notice of the seizure of Christian books and CDs. – The Malaysian Insider pic, October 31, 2014.The Customs notice of the seizure of Christian books and CDs. – The Malaysian Insider pic, October 31, 2014.Maklin Masiau, who was detained and questioned for 40minutes by the Customs officers before his books and CDs were seized, said he was now prepared for the protracted process of getting the authorities to release the materials.

“I know the football game had just started,” he wrote in a posting on his Facebook page.

He said the Customs officers told him to deal with the Home Ministry for the release of the books and VCDs.

Masiau, who has refused to answer calls or reply to WhatsApp messages, also said on his Facebook that he would follow up on the seizure according to the required procedure and believed a settlement could be reached.

He appealed to his friends and well-wishers to remain calm, pray for a solution and avoid making comments with religious sensitivities.

“Pray for the Customs Department, the Home Ministry and all the agencies involved.”

On the incident at klia2, Masiau wrote: “I was detained and questioned for about 40 minutes.

“Even though I pleaded with them not to seize my things with all kinds of concrete reasons, they were steadfast in seizing them.

“Their main reason for the seizure was the books and the CDs contained the word Allah.”

Maklin, who was flying from Medan, Indonesian to Kota Kinabalu with a transit stop in Kuala Lumpur, said he had bought the CDs from the store Pdt. Ir. Niko as Christmas gifts to the church of Bethel Mawar Saron.

Maklin said the klia2 incident was his most bitter experience.

“I not only lost close to RM10,000. Worse, I lost my rights as a Sabahan who had been promised the freedom to practise my religion in the Malaysia Agreement.”

Council of Churches of Malaysia general secretary, Rev Dr Hermen Shastri, when contacted, said that they would leave it in the hands of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup to resolve the matter.

He said the Protestant church of Sabah had contacted Kurup, who is also from Sabah, to enlist his help to work through the process as the materials were confiscated by the Customs Department, a federal authority.

"We are giving the government a chance in good faith to resolve it," Hermen said.

No comments:

Post a Comment