On April 12, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said in Parliament that Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Indonesia could not be circulated in the country as this could be seen as an effort to spread Christianity among the Malays.

However, he later said that permission from the Internal Security Ministry was needed to bring in or possess Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Indonesia.

On April 13, National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) Malaysia secretary-general Rev Wong Kim Kong, expressed deep regret and concern over Nazri's remarks. He said the remarks were inconsistent with the spirit and letter of our Constitution, which upholds freedom of religion for everyone.

Wong added that the policy was also unfair to non-English-speaking Christians. He added that at least 50 per cent of Christian bumiputeras in East Malaysia are non-English speaking.

Saying that Nazri's remarks have caused confusion and anxiety in the Christian community, he called for prompt clarification from the relevant authorities on the matter.

But there was no queries from our many other elected representatives or other religious groups in the interim period before any prompt clarification came. The remarks by the Nazri appeared to be the gospel truth - for a while at least.

The prompt clarification finally came on April 19 when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that there was no ban on the Malay language Bibles but such Bibles must be stamped with the words 'Not for Muslims'.

So why did Nazri made his remarks? Why the delayed clarification? Why didn't more of our church leaders challenge Nazri's remarks?

And recently, that same Mohd Nazri was quoted as making the following comment:

'It is better that you keep quiet and let others assume you are stupid rather than talk nonsense and confirm that you are really stupid. If we want to debate an issue, make sure we prepare so that we will not look stupid for speaking on matters which are not true.'

I wonder when he made the above comments, whether he was directing them at himself for surely Nazri must have been fully aware of the PM's views on Malay language Bibles.

Way to go Nazri, I'm sure we will be hearing more such gaffes from you.