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Page 1 of 2 Apr 20, 2014 07:25:37AM MDT
Dr Halimah Ali
Buck went beyond Khalid, Selangor reps say, in bible storm
malaysia-today.net
Ida Lim, Malay Mail Online
Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is not solely to blame for the seizure of
300 bibles in Selangor, state lawmakers said, with one
executive councillor saying the order did not originate from the
mentri besar.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state executive council member, Dr
Halimah Ali said Khalids administration had not directed the
Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to carry out the
surprise raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) last
January 2, when the Malay-language and Iban-language
bibles containing the word Allah were confiscated.
You have to understand that Jais is having instructions also from Mais, she said, using the Malay
acronym for the Selangor Islamic Religious Council.
Its not just the state government. That one was not instructed by the state government, the Selat Kelang
assemblyman for PAS told The Malay Mail Online yesterday.
Halimah said the state government had to tread carefully, to avoid stepping on the state Rulers
jurisdiction.
You have to be very careful because it also involves the Istana, she said, when asked about PKR de
facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahims call for the return of the bibles with the condition against giving
them to Muslims.
He is a principle-centred man, he is a very open man but there are certain things he cannot do, she
added, referring to Khalid.
Selangor lawmakers from political rival Barisan Nasional (BN) also backed Khalid in his extreme caution in
handling the public fury over the case, throwing their support behind Jaiss enforcement of a 1988 state
law which they believed empowered the Islamic religious department to seize the bibles.
BNs Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan said Khalid had handled the bible seizure case quite well because this
issue is very sensitive and very delicate, also saying that he was merely applying a 1988 Selangor
enactment.
Khalid should not be faulted for applying the state law, Mat Nadzari said, adding: You cannot blame him
just like that.
You must remember we already have an enactment, he is just holding on to the enactment, hes not
wrong. I dont see that he is wrong if he defends the enactment. The enactment is not made by him, it was
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Page 2 of 2 Apr 20, 2014 07:25:37AM MDT
from the House, what else do you want to protest? the Batang Kali assemblyman told The Malay Mail
Online when met at the state assembly here.
Hes following the law, you release, you are against the enactment. Cannot. How to order the release
now? The law is there, Jais is acting according to the law, he said.
The Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 passed by
the then-Barisan Nasional (BN) state government prohibits non-Muslims in Selangor from using 35 Arabic
words and phrases in their faith, including Allah, Nabi (prophet), Injil (gospel) and InsyaAllah (God
willing).
Mat Nadzari noted that the 1988 enactment barred non-Muslims in Selangor from using words such as
Allah, but cited Sabah and Sarawak as examples of states where non-Muslims could freely use the word
as no similar laws exist there.
His colleague Shahrum Dato Mohd Sharif told The Malay Mail Online that he felt Khalid had done well
while agreeing that the criticisms against him on the Allah issue was unfair.
Shahrum observed that the state leader could not simply interfere in the bible seizure case without
considering Selangors laws and enactment.
To be honest with you, the mentri besar handled it well, what I mean by that is in Selangor we are bound
by the non-Muslim 1988 enactment, the Dengkil assemblyman said, adding that a fatwa or religious edict
in Selangor as well as the state rulers previous declaration bars non-Muslims from using the word Allah.
In this case we need to be patient, we need to believe in the legal channels in this state and country, he
said..
Although two other BN state lawmakers including Opposition Leader Datuk Mohd Shamsudin Lias said
the right person to shoulder most of the responsibilities over the bible case should be Selangor religious
affairs exco member Sallehen Mukhyi, they also said Khalids administration lacks a firm and consistent
stand.
I think it is not handled well, creating a lot of questions, I think the religious affairs exco needs to have a
very firm stand on whether this case supports or doesnt support Jais. Dont let there be grey area
because we are talking about the enactment, the laws, Permatang assemblyman Sulaiman Abdul Razak
said.