Allow Malay-language Bibles, say groups

The National Association of Muslim Students (PKPIM) expressed its objections today against those quarters who disagree with the translation of the Bible into Malay.

In a statement, its president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz (right) said Malay has been accepted as the national language for use by all ethnic and religious communities.

“At the same time, the national language is among the languages spoken by a number of Christian communities in the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak,” he added.

In a caveat on the matter, however, Faisal said PKPIM voiced its opposition to certain words that had been used in Malay-language Bibles such as ‘Allah’ and ‘solat’ (prayers) in view of the availability of other words available for use.

Faisal also urged the government to limit the distribution of such Bibles into peninsular Malaysia.

The student group was responding to calls from various quarters against the impounding of Malay-language Bibles from Indonesia in Kuching and Port Klang ports.

The government had said the detention of the Bibles was due to the pending court battle over the word ‘Allah’ in Catholic publication The Herald.

The 5,000 copies of the ‘Al-Kitab’ were conditionally released on Tuesday after about two years of being impounded at Port Klang subsequent to attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail’s advice that release of the Bibles would not impinge on the court case.
            
PKPIM also announced it will be launching a Gerakan Kempen Kesedaran Ijtima’i campaign (GKKI - Movement for Social Awareness) this weekend in order to address what it said were concerns over Christian missionary efforts.  

“PKPIM calls on all quarters to stop pointing fingers at other parties over the issue, as the Christianisation agenda is due to our own failures to nurture a generation (of Muslims) who are firm in their beliefs and clear about the message of Islam,” said Faisal.        

“The main aim of the launch of GKKI-PKPIM is to increase the awareness and understanding of Islam as well as to clear the confusion over the implications of Al-Kitab to Islam and society generally,” he added.

On a related matter, the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM) called for the right of all Malaysians to read their holy books in the national language to be respected and for all restrictions against Malay-language Bibles to be lifted.

“The Malay language is the national language of Malaysia. It is also the official language. Therefore, YBAM is of the opinion that executing authorities cannot, on the basis of language used, deprive Malaysians of the right to learn or study holy books written in the national language,” said YBAM’s executive secretary Lee Chung Yen in a statement.

“YBAM cannot agree with the demand by the government asking Christian organisations to print the words "for the use of Christians only" on the Malay-version Bibles as a condition to lift the ban.

“Any person should have the freedom to read books on religions other than his own; believers of other religions or people with no particular religious belief can also read and gain knowledge about the relevant holy books,” Lee added.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Koh Tsu Koon, meanwhile, also lent his voice to the call for the Bible and other religious publications to be allowed according to the principle and spirit of freedom of religion as provided for in the federal constitution and ‘Rukun Negara’.

Koh, who is also Gerakan president, also called on government officers to exercise discretion and understanding, and consult with the groups concerned when carrying out any decisions on the matter.

In his statement, he also said the cabinet may discuss the issue and concerns expressed by the Christian community and other groups in its meeting today to seek an amicable solution to the matter.

“I appeal to all sides to handle this in a rational manner in the interest of inter-faith harmony in our nation.”