Putrajaya is committed to 10-point solution, but cannot interfere in state affairs, says minister
Putrajaya today insisted that it remained committed to the 10-point solution which was signed with Sabah and Sarawak in April 2011 and on the use of the word "Allah".
However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Nancy Shukri said religious affairs in every state fell under the purview of the state government and not Putrajaya.
She pointed out that where Putrajaya was concerned, it never diverted from the 2011 agreement which was signed just before the Sarawak state elections.
The 10-point solution, which was announced by the Government in April 2011, was to have resolved the use of Bahasa Malaysia and the term "Allah" in the Alkitab.
Under the agreement, which was drawn up by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala (pic), bibles in all languages can be imported into the country, including those in Bahasa Malaysia/Indonesia, and the bibles can also be printed locally in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.
"Religious issues do not come under the purview of the Federal government and we cannot interfere in how each state manages its religious affairs," she said.
Speaking to reporters after officiating the beginning of the judiciary's legal year in Sabah and Sarawak, Nancy said Putrajaya could not force the state governments to honour the 10-point solution, referring to the current situation in Selangor where the state religious authorities seized more than 300 Malay and Iban bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia.
"Whatever it is that the religious authorities in Selangor are enforcing, how they practice their religion, it is their prerogative," she said.
It was tense at the end of last year when the appellate court ruled that the Catholic weekly Herald, could not use the word "Allah" in its publication.
Tension soared higher when the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raided the BSM on January 3 and seized more than 300 copies of the Alkitab and Bup Kudus (Iban bible).
Herald editor Rev Father Lawrence Andrew enraged Muslims and Umno members when he insisted the word "Allah" would continue to be used by churches in Selangor during their Bahasa Malaysia services.
Conservative Muslims began targeting Andrew and police reports were lodged against him.
Police opened investigation papers and probed Andrew for alleged sedition, recommending that he be charged.
Throughout all this, Putrajaya kept silent on the issue even as Christians looked to Datuk Seri Idris Jala for an explanation.
Nancy said the Allah issue was a delicate matter and warned the public not to be sucked in by quarters who were taking advantage of the situation. - January 17, 2014.
source : mi
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