The Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) is not likely to be face raids from religious authorities after its move to Kuala Lumpur but copies of the Bible containing the word 'Allah' it may have will not necessarily be safe, legal experts say.

In terms of escaping the Islamic religious authorities, Bar Council human rights committee co-chairperson Andrew Khoo said, the Federal Territory does not have any enactment outlawing the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.

"In that sense, they would not be subject to any raid by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (Maiwp) because they have no such power," Khoo  told Malaysiakini when contacted.

In KL, he said, BSM can enjoy the unrestricted benefits of the 10-point solution that allows the use of the word "Allah" in the Bible.

Putrajaya, which came up with the solution in 2011, has insisted that it only applies to states where there are no laws contradicting the 10 points.

BSM on April 15 announced that it will move its office to KL, citing the Selangor government's unwillingness to correct an unjust situation after it was raided by the Selangor Islamic Affiars Department (Jais).

Jais in January carted away more than 300 copies of the Bible in the Malay land Iban languages from BSM's office in Damansara, Selangor, citing the Selangor Non-Islamic Religious (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988, which outlaws the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims.

'No federal law banning use of Allah'

The Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 that applies to Kuala Lumpur makes no mention of the use of the word 'Allah'.

And, said lawyer New Sin Yew, "Section 2 of this Federal Territories law clearly states that it applies only to persons professing the religion of Islam."

But BSM, which has said it will now import the Bible in the Malay and Iban languages through Penang, instead of Port Klang, will still face logistical hurdles.

"When transporting the Bible across states that have 'no Allah for non-Muslims' enactments, you again open yourself up to this problem (of raids), which is why it is not a viable long term solution," New said.

Only Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and the FederalTerritories do not have enactments outlawing non-Muslim use of the word 'Allah'.

New added that even in KL, BSM was not completely safe from raids as there is still the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

'Still open to Home Ministry raids'

If there comes a day when Putrajaya no longer stands by the 10-point solution, the Home Ministry can use the law to confiscate any copy of the Bible that contains the word 'Allah'.

"As shown in the court decision on the use of the word Allah by the Herald, 'Allah' is a prohibited word. There is every possibility that the Bible with the word "Allah" will be prohibited or seized, regardless of where BSM is located within Malaysia," he said.

instead of trying to escape to KL, New said, BSM should stand its ground and fight the case.

"If BSM truly feels aggrieved, it should have taken legal action against Jais for seizing the Bible.
"Jais would then need to prove how the Bible is being used to propagate amongst persons professing the religion of Islam as alleged by Jais.

"It would be utterly disappointing if a society such as BSM choose to run away instead of fighting for their rights," he said.

Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution states that "other religions" cannot be propagated to Muslims.