Najib reassurance useless after latest seizure of ‘Allah’ CDs and books, says DAP
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's assurance to Christians in Sabah and Sarawak that the ruling on the use of the word “Allah” would not affect them has been rendered useless, given a recent report that Christian CDs and books containing the word were confiscated at klia2 last week, a DAP lawmaker said.
Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said that when the Court of Appeal denied the right of Christian publication Herald the right to use the word “Allah” last October, Najib had assured Christians in Sabah and Sarawak that the decision would not affect them given the 10-point agreement issued by the Cabinet.
Given that assurance by the prime minister, Ong has now questioned why hundreds of CDs and books containing the word “Allah” were confiscated at the new low-cost carrier terminal last Saturday.
The material reportedly belonged to a Sabah Christian, who was bringing the items from Medan back to Sabah where he lives.
Ong said that if this news was true, it proved that Najib’s assurances to Christians in Sabah and Sarawak were completely undependable and unreliable.
"The confiscation of this Christian material once again shows that Christians in Sabah and Sarawak have no assurance that Bibles printed in Indonesia and imported to Malaysia will not be confiscated as a result of the Court of Appeal ruling on the use of the word ‘Allah’ as ‘not being an integral part’ of the Christian faith," Ong said in a statement today.
Ong added that the confiscation also showed failure on the part of Putrajaya to protect religious freedom as enshrined in Article 11 (1) of the Federal Constitution.
"It also shows failure of the federal government, in trying to keep up the pretence of having an inconsistent promise of ‘one country, two systems’ for having one set of laws for Peninsular Malaysia and another set of laws for Sabah and Sarawak when it comes to something as fundamental as our constitutional rights to practise our religion freely."
As such, Ong said the prime minister should order his home minister to release the materials immediately.
He also called on Najib to order the home minister not to appeal the High Court decision which ordered the CDs belonging to Sarawakian Christian Jill Ireland to be returned to her.
"The failure to do so would only confirm that Najib is a ‘toothless tiger’ who is incapable of ensuring that his own ministers implement his promises to the people." – October 31, 2014.
