The Star
PETALING JAYA: Allowing Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia to be printed locally will provide an amicable solution to the deadlock over the matter, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
The Bibles, currently printed in Indonesia and imported by churches here, could be printed locally by printing houses sanctioned by the Home Ministry, added Dr Chua.
“If Bibles in the national language are printed locally, then they can be allowed to be circulated to churches with proper supervision,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Chua appealed to the Government to meet church groups to resolve the issue soon, stating that the fulfilment of religious needs should not be confined to selected languages.
The controversy over the distribution and use of Bahasa Malaysia Bibles ignited again after several consignment of such Bibles were seized, the latest being the 30,000 copies of the “Perjanjian Baru, Mazmur dan Amsal” (New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs) which are being held at the Kuching port in Sarawak.
The Bibles, currently printed in Indonesia and imported by churches here, could be printed locally by printing houses sanctioned by the Home Ministry, added Dr Chua.
“If Bibles in the national language are printed locally, then they can be allowed to be circulated to churches with proper supervision,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Chua appealed to the Government to meet church groups to resolve the issue soon, stating that the fulfilment of religious needs should not be confined to selected languages.
The controversy over the distribution and use of Bahasa Malaysia Bibles ignited again after several consignment of such Bibles were seized, the latest being the 30,000 copies of the “Perjanjian Baru, Mazmur dan Amsal” (New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs) which are being held at the Kuching port in Sarawak.
Christian groups are also unhappy that the ministry had yet to release a previous shipment of 5,000 Bahasa Malaysia Bibles, known as the Alkitab, despite numerous appeals since it was detained in Port Klang in March 2009.
“Every Malaysian has the right to practise his religion as guaranteed and enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
“In Sabah and Sarawak, the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the practice of Christianity has long been a common tradition,” he said.
The Government, he said, must understand that Bahasa Malaysia would be used in a greater manner, especially among the young, given its emphasis and function as the teaching medium in schools.
“We can be sure that the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the learning and teaching of Christianity will not be abused with proper supervision by the churches themselves.
“We must embrace such development in all graciousness, not with suspicion and in the spirit of 1Malaysia,” he added.
In a statement on Thursday, the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said that Malaysian Christians, many of whom grew up with Bahasa Malaysia as their principal medium of communication, must have access to Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia in order to read, comprehend and practise their faith.
“The freedom of religion guaranteed as part of the fundamental liberties under our Federal Constitution is rendered meaningless if adherents to a religion are denied access to their religious texts in a language that they can understand.
“It is an affront to them that they are being deprived of their sacred scriptures,” said CFM chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing.
DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged the government to immediately release the Bibles, stating that it was unconstitutional to deprive Christians of their Holy Scripture to preserve the country’s peaceful practise of cultural and religious diversity.
“Further prohibiting the Bible just because it is in Bahasa Malaysia is contrary to the position of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language,” he said.
“Every Malaysian has the right to practise his religion as guaranteed and enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
“In Sabah and Sarawak, the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the practice of Christianity has long been a common tradition,” he said.
The Government, he said, must understand that Bahasa Malaysia would be used in a greater manner, especially among the young, given its emphasis and function as the teaching medium in schools.
“We can be sure that the use of Bahasa Malaysia in the learning and teaching of Christianity will not be abused with proper supervision by the churches themselves.
“We must embrace such development in all graciousness, not with suspicion and in the spirit of 1Malaysia,” he added.
In a statement on Thursday, the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said that Malaysian Christians, many of whom grew up with Bahasa Malaysia as their principal medium of communication, must have access to Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia in order to read, comprehend and practise their faith.
“The freedom of religion guaranteed as part of the fundamental liberties under our Federal Constitution is rendered meaningless if adherents to a religion are denied access to their religious texts in a language that they can understand.
“It is an affront to them that they are being deprived of their sacred scriptures,” said CFM chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing.
DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng urged the government to immediately release the Bibles, stating that it was unconstitutional to deprive Christians of their Holy Scripture to preserve the country’s peaceful practise of cultural and religious diversity.
“Further prohibiting the Bible just because it is in Bahasa Malaysia is contrary to the position of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language,” he said.
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