KOTA KINABALU: The confiscation of some 300 copies of Bahasa Malaysia and Iban versions of the Bible and the arrest of two Christian leaders of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) was a clear defiance to the freedom of religion which is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk Teo Chee Kang said.
He said Article 11 provides that every Malaysian has the right to profess, practise and propagate his or her religion, subject to restriction on propagation of other religions to Muslims.
Article 3 provides that Islam is the religion of the Federation but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony, he said in a press statement yesterday.
Teo added that our country maintains two parallel justice systems, one based upon common laws and statutes enacted by the Parliament, the other is the Syariah. Syariah courts only have jurisdiction over Muslims.
Similarly, Teo pointed out that the Islamic Religious Department only have jurisdiction over persons who profess the Islamic faith.
“By conducting the raid, Jais had clearly crossed the line. To put in simple words, we now have a religious department entering another religious organization’s premises without a warrant and seizing sacred books belonging to the latter!” he said.
Teo, who is also Minister of Special Tasks, said this was a blatant affront to the notion of mutual respect and acceptance which forms the bedrock of our nation since independence.
“Our national leaders must do the right thing to check, control and prevent the happening of similar incidents which may erode harmonious ethnic relations in the nation.
“Let Malaysia continue to be a model to the world as a multi-racial society that is governed with the principles of moderation,” he said.
Meanwhile, STAR Sabah chief Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan urged Barisan Nasional leaders in Sabah to act on the Allah issue before it is too late.
He said the Sarawak BN leaders had spoken and taken a stand and now BN leaders in Sabah need to show courage and leadership in the face of adversity of their common foes from within and stand up to make a stand on the issue.
