Catholic bishop slams detention of bibles

Stephanie Sta Maria

It's a flagrant example of the hypocrisy of 1Malaysia as a vote-winning slogan rather than as a platform on which to unify the people, says Paul Tan

KUALA LUMPUR: The Bishop of the Malacca-Johor Diocese, Paul Tan, has decried the impoundments of the Al-Kitab as an outright violation of religious freedom.

Thirty-five thousand copies of the Bahasa Malaysia version of the New Testament were impounded by Customs at Port Klang and in Kuching in March 2009 despite government assurances that the Malay-language bible would be permitted.

The Al-Kitab is used mainly by Christians in Sabah and Sarawak.

In a statement today, Bishop Paul Tan slammed the detention of the thousands of bibles at Port Klang and Kuching as a “flagrant example of the hypocrisy of people who treat the 1Malaysia concept as a vote-winning slogan rather than as a platform on which to unify the people.”

“The action is a violation of the fundamental right of freedom of religion which is guaranteed under the Federal Constitution and is espoused by Pope Benedict XVI as a right that protects the dignity of the human person and his or her freedom of conscience,” he said.

Last week the home ministry denied allegations that it had confiscated 5,000 copies of the Al-Kitab imported from Indonesia.

The ministry instead explained that the bibles were refused entry into the country because the shipment didn’t fulfill the ministry’s requirements. A letter of refusal dated June 26, 2010 was sent to the importer but the cargo has yet to be claimed.

The ‘Allah’ issue

The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship has accused the ministry of acting on its own accord in detaining the bibles as the cabinet has already approved the release of the consignment.

The detention of bibles is based on a 1986 government ban on the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims. This word, however, has been used for decades by Christians in Borneo.

The “Allah” issue flared up in late 2009 after a High Court decision to allow the Catholic publication, Herald, to use the word in its English and Bahasa Malaysia editions.

The home ministry has appealed the decision but until today, no date has been set for the appeal to be heard.

“The Catholic Church together with the Christian leaders of the country at the Kuching Declaration will not retract its decision made in 1989 not to relinquish its right to use the word ‘Allah’ in its rituals of prayer and worship, and the dissemination of its teachings to the faithful,” said Tan.

“This right is grounded on history, etymology and now by secular jurisprudence. We respectfully ask for its recognition by authorities that they match deed to word as otherwise sloganeering becomes mere posturing, and words become platitudes.”