Putrajaya backs down over Alkitab for Sabah and
The Cabinet, through its Christian minister, Datuk Seri Idris Jala, offered today a new list of suggestions to put an end to the month-long stand-off, in a bid to head off a possible backlash against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in Malaysia’s biggest and most Christian state on April 16.
Nearly half the state’s one million population is Christian.
In his media statement, Jala spelled out the government’s 10-point formula to pacify the minority Christians without incurring the anger of the majority Muslims over the religious controversy.
He said Christians in Sarawak and Sabah are free to bring in and use their bibles in Malay and various indigenous languages and no restriction will be applied.
But at the same time, a slightly different set of rules apply to Christians in Peninsular Malaysia.
According to Jala, this is because Muslims are the majority community on the peninsula, unlike in Borneo where they are the minority.
“Taking into account the interest of the larger Muslim community, for Peninsula Malaysia, Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia/Indonesia, imported or printed, must have the words ‘Christian Publication’ and the cross sign printed on the front covers,” he said in the statement.
Jala also said that the bible can now be printed locally in any language, including in Iban, Kadazan-Dusun and Lun Bawang.
However, he made no mention about the word “Allah”, which both Christians and Muslims view as being the crux of the Alkitab row.
He added that the federal government will reimburse the two bible importers over the markings carried out by Home Ministry officials, which the Christian community regard as desecration of their holy book.
Jala said that the Cabinet’s decision will be gazetted through the Home Ministry’s secretary-general to ensure the order is carried out and that action will be taken against civil officials who breach these directives.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will meet the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) to look for a way forward on outstanding religious issues beyond the bible row.
He added that Christian ministers in the Cabinet will also hold regular meetings with Christian groups to talk over religious issues.
“I hope this 10-point solution will be received positively by the Christian groups as being fair and reasonable,” Jala said in his statement, adding that the government was committed to a peaceful way out of the impasse.
He acknowledged that the government had handled the bible issue poorly but stopped short of offering an apology.
“I hope the Christians would find it in their hearts to forgive us,” he said.
“The Bible says in Matthew 18: 21-22, ‘Then Peter came to Jesus and asked: Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jala said, quoting from the Christian holy book.
“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times,” he concluded.
Last month, the Home Ministry drew flak from Christians after stamping and serializing 35,000 Malay bibles valued at about RM140,000, without the importers’ consent.
The CFM, the umbrella body that represents over 90 per cent of churches nationwide, have said they only wish for their constitutional rights to worship to be upheld.
In an immediate response, a CFM spokesman told The Malaysian Insider the Christian body welcomed “the government’s initiative”.
But the CFM executive council will have to hold another meeting to consider all viewpoints before deciding on the matter.
“It’s still a one-nation, two-state policy,” he said, pointing to the separate set of rules for Borneo and the peninsula.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the insider noted that most of the points Jala had spelled out were not new as they were decisions agreed upon by both sides previously.
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