Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim should proactively find a solution to the issue of confiscated bibles instead of passing the buck to the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), said Serdang MP Dr Ong Kian Ming.

Yesterday, Khalid asked BSM to show their “determination and desire” in obtaining the 300 bibles that had been seized by JAIS on 2  January 2014,  by writing directly to the Attorney General.

Dr Ong said the MB should engage the key stakeholders including the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS), Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), the Attorney General and the Home Ministry to seek a solution in line with the 10 point agreement .

“We want to remind the MB that one week after the bibles were seized, he instructed Jais to seek clarification from the Home Ministry whether the Malay and Iban bibles fulfilled the 10-point agreement announced by the BN government in 2011, just prior to the Sarawak state elections,” said Dr Ong.

The 10 point agreement was announced by the Barisan Nasional government in 2011 in relation to the distributing of Malay bibles to Christians in Peninsular Malaysia.

Among the ten points agreed by the government, it was agreed that Bibles in all languages can be imported into the country, including Bahasa Malaysia/Indonesia. The agreement also stipulated that Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia or Indonesian should have the words “Christian Publication” and the cross sign printed on the front covers.

The Serdang MP suggested that the Selangor government needed to request JAIS for more timely updates on the progress of the investigations into BM and Iban bibles. Dr Ong also questioned whether it is necessary for all 300 copies of the Bibles to be kept while investigations are ongoing.

“We want to remind the MB that Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor was given a very strong mandate in the 13th General Election based on Pakatan’s promise to govern inclusively, fairly and justly. To ask BSM to write directly to the Attorney General and to show their “determination and desire” to seek the return of their bibles would be seen as ignoring this election promise,” asserted Dr Ong.

He added that it was the responsibility of the state government to find a fair and just resolution to this matter in keeping with the constitutionally protected right to freedom of religion. -The Rocket