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Sunday, June 22, 2014

Umno behind Bible, wedding raids, says PAS

A PAS lawmaker has accused Umno of being behind the controversial raids and seizure of Malay and Iban Bibles by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais).

Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad said Jais’s action had nothing to do with the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government.

"Umno which lost the state government wants to regain its power through the backdoor, so it uses the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais).

"The head of Mais is not appointed by the state but by the sultan. The chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa is an Umno member," he said at the Bukit Gelugor thanksgiving ceramah last night.

On January 2, Jais seized 321 Malay and Iban Bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia  and disrupted  the wedding of Zarinah Abdul Majid, who was converted to Islam as a child by her Muslim convert father but grew up practising Hinduism, on June 1.

Although the attorney-general had ordered the seized Bibles returned, Mais and Jais have refused to do so.

The Sultan of Selangor has ordered Jais to refer the matter of the Bibles to the public prosecutor, so the courts could determine if they should be returned or disposed of.

Jais has disrupted Zarinah’s Hindu wedding and since then, the Selangor government had ordered that Zarinah be assisted to change the status of her faith to Hindu with the National Registration Department.

Khalid, the Selangor PAS deputy commissioner, alleged that it was Mais which ordered the Bible seizure and raid at Zarinah's Hindu wedding.

He said he would ask the Selangor government to ensure that Mais was stripped of its executive power to give orders to Jais.

"Political motives were behind such actions. They want Selangor citizens to think that such problems never happened under the BN administration... that it was all PAS's fault.

"But when PAS and the menteri besar (Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim) told Jais to return the Bibles, the department said no. It is hiding behind the palace through Mais."

Khalid said PAS was against what Mais and Jais had done when respect must be accorded to all religions.

"People will accuse me of currying favour with non-Muslims but I do not say such things to defend other religions.

"I only defend Islam because Islam teaches us to respect all other religions and their houses of worship.”

Msian Insider

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