Hisham: Stamps on bible standard practice

KUALA LUMPUR: Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today said that the decision to stamp the Malay-language bible, Al-Kitab, was not done to deface it and was a standard practice.

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby, he said that the stamp on the bibles was not a new condition imposed for their release.

The stamp denotes “For Christians Only”. The other condition is that the book must be marked with serial numbers.

“Even during Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time, these bibles were released with a chop on them.”

Asked why it was stamped without the importer’s permission, Hishammuddin said that the bibles were stamped as “they (importers) wanted it to be immediately released”.

He said that the matter could not resolved because certain parties were finding flaws in the government.

“They find fault with everything we do… (you can also) raise the issue of smell (bau)… that the bibles have been kept for a long while and that they smell.

“Come forward and let’s talk about it. (The serial number) is not a big issue to me,” he said.

‘Matter will never end’

Hishammuddin said that the matter would never end and raised doubts if some quarters indeed wanted the issue to be resolved.

“Once if it is resolved, then it won’t be an issue. There won’t be issues to divide us, to make people angry with us (the government), no issue to sell paper, magazines or (on) Internet.”

He also said that the ministry has been engaging people regarding the issue, but could not find a common ground as it “could not engage parties who do not wish to be engaged”.

“It’s like hitting your head against a wall… the wall does not budge, but my head is swollen.”

The Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) raised a red flag yesterday when the ministry had stamped serial numbers and the words “this Al-Kitab Berita Baik is only for Christians only” on the 5,100 bibles held in Port Klang.

According to an earlier agreement in 2005, the ministry had agreed to allow the import of the bibles provided that Christians themselves include a sign of the cross and the words “Penerbitan Kristian” (Christian publication) on the covers.

BSM claims that the stamps had defaced the holy book.

Meanwhile, Home Ministry secretary-general, Mahmood Adam, said it was standard practice to stamp serial numbers even on the Quran so the issue of the serial number is a “small matter”.