Father Cyril says that he uses the Malay hymn book for the Orang Asli Christian’s in his parish (pic from the Malaysian Insider)
The recent confiscations of Christian hymn books are in violation with the Cabinet’s 10 point solution, DAP says.
The seizure of the Malay Christian hymn books as seen at an orang asli settlement on December 5 were not in accordance with the 10-Point Solution agreed upon by the cabinet, said Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.
In that incident, the police had detained Catholic priest Father Cyril Mannayagam from the Church of St Andrew, Muar for the “offense” of having a Christian prayer book that contained the word “Allah”.
According to Father Cyril, although the police had decided not to pursue the case against him, they had kept the 31 copies of “Kepujian Kepada Tuhan Allah” (Praise be to God) hymn books that he says was for Orang Asli parishioners at the church.
In a statement today, Teresa Kok, said that Idris Jala had outlined in The Star on February 24 that the 10 point solution can co-exist with the Islamic State Enactments that prohibits non-Muslims from using 34 words that include ‘Allah’ and ‘Injil’.
She was referring to his article in the Star where he said that the 10 point solution was compatible with the prohibited words, on the basis that they are not used to propagate the non-Muslim religion to Muslims.
Idris Jala had said in the article that is was not an offense for a non-Muslim to use words like ‘Allah’ in the Selangor national anthem, and ‘Haji’ when addressing a Muslim with a Haji title.
Idris, a Christian, also added that the word ‘Injil’, prohibited under the Islamic State enactment, was used in his own church and that that it was in line with the view of the Federal or State Government because with was not used to evangelize Christianity to Muslims.
“Although the word “Injil” is prohibited, the Federal Government and the Selangor State Government have not prohibited my church, which is one of the fastest growing churches in Kuala Lumpur, from calling our church SIBKL or “Sidang Injil Borneo KL”. In fact, in our church, we often pray for our Prime Minister and the leaders of our nation so that God will bless them and grant them the wisdom to lead our nation,” said Idris Jala.
These list of prohibited words do not apply to Sabah, Sarawak, and Penang.
Teresa Kok said that based on this, it is clear that the actions taken by the police on December 5 were violating the 10 point solutions, as the hymn books were not used for propagation to Muslims, but for the use of Orang Asli Christians.
“Although Idris has placed upfront a caveat that the views expressed in his column were his own in his personal capacity, the fact remains that he was the key person responsible for proposing the 10 point solution,” she added.
The 10 point solution is a cabinet directive to allow the use and publication of Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia as well as other languages for Penisular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.
The 10 point solution was unveiled by Idris Jala leading up to the Sarawak elections in 2011, amidst controversy of the usage of the word ‘Allah’ and the detaining of 5000 Al-Kitab (Malay bibles) in Kuching Port.
“Idris and the Cabinet must denounce the police’s action and order the immediate return of the books to Father Cyril. The Cabinet must also ensure that its 10 point solution is complied with by all federal and state agencies,” said Teresa Kok.
Will Johor also see an “amicable resolution” as seen in Selangor ?
The Johor religious books seizures on 5 December have come only weeks after the Selangor Islamic authorities had returned the 351 copies of Iban and Malay bibles from Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), with the intervention of Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali and the facilitation of Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
The returning of bibles were seen as an amicable resolution to the seized bibles and saw opposition leaders congratulate MB Azmin who had succeeded where his predecessor Khalid Ibrahim, had failed to negotiating a solution.
Following media frenzy over Azmin’s success, MCA religious harmony bureau deputy chairman Ng Chok Sin was quick to point out that it was the Sultan of Selangor and not Azmin who had worked actively behind the scenes to return the bibles since the Selangor Islamic Department had raided BSM’s premises on 2 January. MCA had also accused Azmin of “stealing the limelight” from the Sultan in returning the bibles.
When the bibles were subsequently released, it was found that the books were desecrated; stamped by Selangor religious authorities with the tag “STRICTLY FOR NON_MUSLIM USAGE ONLY AND SHALL NOT BE PUBLISHED OR USED IN ANY PART OF THE STATE OF SELANGOR PURSUANT TO SECTION 9 (1) NON_ISLAMIC RELIGIONS (CONTROL OF PROPAGATION AMONGT MUSLIMS) ENACTMENT 1998.”
In the case of the Johor religious books seizures, the police are waiting for word from Attorney General’s chambers to get the green light to return the books. According to Father Cyril, despite explaining to the police that the bibles were used in his church for the Orang Asli community, the bibles were nevertheless still confiscated.
It is unclear if negotiations are under way in Johor for an amicable resolution to return the seized Christian hymn books before Christimas this year. -The Rocket
