Bibles' Release: Do I hear an "encore" happening soon?

"Stupid being what stupid does, they do it "to avoid conflict",
then cause a conflict which has to be controlled with laws which can get you arrested
- even as you are thinking of responding to the conflict!! (very crever, eh?)"
-Because "WE" ARE STUPID- and Proud Of It, dammmit!!

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Government orders release of Malay bibles

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — The Najib administration ordered the release of 35,000 Malay-language Bibles which were seized at the ports of Kuching and Klang, bowing to pressure from Christian churches and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politicians.

“This is a reasonable compromise in managing the polarities of views between Christians and Muslims in the country,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala in a statement this evening.

The Cabinet was set to discuss the issue on Friday with one eye on the Sarawak polls set to take place next month.

But with the seizure of the bibles drawing protests from Christians nationwide, a majority of whom live in Sabah and Sarawak, the federal government was forced to act today.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia, which represents 90 per cent of churches in Malaysia, has said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made a decision to release the Alkitabs but so far, the home ministry, which controls customs, has refused to hand over the bibles.

Christians, who make up close to 10 per cent of Malaysia’s 28 million population, use Bahasa Malaysia in Sabah and Sarawak churches to preach to the multi-ethnic congregation who each have a distinctive tribal language.

But evangelist churches there, such as Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB), have crossed the South China Sea to preach to the growing number of Sarawakians and Sabahans who are settling down in the peninsula after furthering their studies or finding work here.

Jala, who is a Sarawakian Christian, said that the government had decided on the release of the Alkitab in line with a 1982 gazette under the Internal Security Act which allows its limited and controlled importation and circulation on condition that the books are stamped: “For Christians Only.”

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Abim demands Najib clarify stand on Bibles

By Shannon Teoh

March 11, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Citing fears of apostasy among Muslims, the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) has called for Datuk Seri Najib Razak to verify the claim by Christian groups that the prime minister has said that there is no ban on Malay-language Bibles.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said yesterday that Najib had confirmed that there was an order to release 5,000 Bibles being held in Port Klang.

“As the chief executive of this country, any statement reflects the stand and policy of the government.

“In this context, the claim by CFM appears to say that the government has agreed to the distribution of Malay-language Bibles despite no official public notice,” said Abim secretary-general Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim.

He added that any enactment governing the spread of other religions to Muslims must be adhered to and respected.

Mohamad Raimi asked the prime minister to clarify the matter to avoid any misunderstanding that can disrupt racial harmony.

The Home Ministry’s move to hold 35,000 Bibles worth at least RM78,000 in the ports of Klang and Kuching has angered Christians in Malaysia.

They have lashed out at the federal government for what they see as a systematic move to deny their religious rights enshrined in the country’s highest law.(emphasis, mine)

The CFM, which represents 90 per cent of churches here, demanded yesterday that the government immediately release all Bibles detained.

In a statement today, Abim said it viewed seriously CFM’s claim that Najib had agreed to the unrestricted distribution of the Bibles in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Abim takes the view that freedom of religion should not overstep the provisions of the federal constitution where Islam is the official religion of the federation.”

The influential Muslim group also called for the dispute to be resolved through closed-door discussions between religious leaders and for parties involved not to apply undue pressure on the authorities due to the sensitive nature of the issue.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has a Christian community that makes up nearly 10 per cent of the 28 million population, with the biggest numbers based in Sarawak and Sabah, where the main language used by the Bumiputeras in churches is Bahasa Malaysia.

Because "WE" ARE STUPID- and Proud Of It, dammmit!!

Ya, Rabbi - what's wrong with these Arabs?
The Arabs are wondering what is wrong with the Malaysians- they have used "Allah" for 2000 years, and it caused no confusion. They're wondering why they cannot bring their scriptures into Malaysia, if it contains the word- "Allah".

Don't they see that these "Ketuanan" fellas are stupid and are definitely proud of it?
The Malaysian Home Ministry has "wisely" taken upon itself to guide Malaysians in a matter of "national security"- lest some "faithful" are stupid enough to think that the Bible in Malay might be the Quran (and vice versa)!!
The Home Ministry knows that Malaysians are stupid, and hence, need to be "protected" after all these years. The Home Ministry also believes that they hold the patent/copyright to the Arabic word "Allah".

Stupid being what stupid does, they do it "to avoid conflict", then cause a conflict which has to be controlled with laws which can get you arrested- even as you are thinking of responding to the conflict!! (very crever, eh?)

The "Ketuanan guys" are plain STUPID, and they are Bloody Proud of it, dammit!!
(And the rest of the Malaysians are stupider still, for voting them in repeatedly!!)
.... dat oso donno ah?

**Mark my words- very soon they make it a crime for anyone else to be stupid, as they'll make a law that prohibits the "non-tuans" (BN-putras excluded) from being stupid!
...... yeah- they'll get a patent for it.

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“Something we cannot understand in the Arab world and the whole world is when Malaysia prohibits Malaysian Christians from using the name of Allah because we have used it for 2,000 years and until this moment, no one has stopped us.
“If we, the Arab Christians are using it in the heart of the Muslim and Arab world, then why can’t the Malaysian Christians use it?”

Arab Christians express concern about Malaysian Bible row

The Malaysian Insider
By Clara Chooi

March 14, 2011

PETALING JAYA, March 14 — The lengthy row over Bahasa Malaysia Bibles and the “Allah” controversy has sparked off international concern among the Arab Christian community, triggering them to urge the Najib administraton for a quick resolution to the issues.

Religious leaders from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), led by its president, Bishop Munib A. Younan, met with unity affairs minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon last Thursday, where both issues were discussed extensively.

Younan also urged Koh to initiate the release of the 35,000 Malay-language Bibles currently held by the government in two separate ports in the country.

In the discussion, Younan had also told Koh that the tussle over the word “Allah” between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities here has baffled the Christians of the Arab world who have been using the word for over 2,000 years.

“Something we cannot understand in the Arab world and the whole world is when Malaysia prohibits Malaysian Christians from using the name of Allah because we have used it for 2,000 years and until this moment, no one has stopped us.

“If we, the Arab Christians are using it in the heart of the Muslim and Arab world, then why can’t the Malaysian Christians use it?” Younan told reporters in Armada Hotel here yesterday.

Younan, who is also the bishop for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), added that it would be good for Malaysia to show a pluralistic nature by allowing non-Muslims to use “Allah” in their prayers as the country’s constitution provided for religious freedom.

“It is not a challenge to others or a cause for confusion... on the contrary, every religion has the right to use the name of God in any way that they want,” he stressed.

In rejecting the government’s move to detain 35,000 Malay-language Bibles, Younan pointed out that the holy books merely promoted love and moral deeds.

“I said (to Koh) that it does not give a good indication to this whole issue. I think it is very important that people have their own Bibles and to read them because it is better to have the Bible than to have something else because the Bible teaches you love of God and your neighbour,” he reasoned.

Younan added that he had also expressed hope to Koh that the Malaysian government emulated the move by the Jordanian King in allocating 5,000 square metres of free land to churches to allow them to build their respective houses of worship.

“The King gave every church 5,000 square metres of land free on the baptism site along the River Jordan. My Lutheran Church received this precious land, we got a permit and duty-free and tax-free materials to build it.

“We hope Malaysia can follow in these footsteps because it is important to help complete this freedom of religion in Malaysia,” he said.

Younan claimed that upon hearing the views during the over two hour meet, Koh promised that he would raise the issues up with the administration.

“I spoke to him in my capacity as the LWF president and he promised to do something. He has received our message and we will continue to write each other on this,” he said.

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition founded in Sweden in 1947. It presently has 145 member churches in 79 countries across the globe, including four in Malaysia, and represents some 70 million Christians worldwide.

The Home Ministry has come under fire for its move to impound the Malay-language Bibles and is presently facing extreme pressure from the local Christian community and numerous political parties, including those in the Barisan Nasional (BN), to release the holy books.

Despite this, the ministry announced that it had passed the buck to the Attorney-General to decide, reasoning that the detention of the books had been due to the pending appeal over Catholic newspaper The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications.

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