Federal Cabinet’s 10-point agreement on the use of ‘Allah’ in Christian literature is “permissible in East Malaysia under the law".
FMT
KUCHING: Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, a Sarawakian, has clarified that Christian books and CDs were seized on October 25 at KLIA2 from a pastor from Sabah and would be returned.
“Once the process of clearing and all is done, the Bibles or whatever documents they are, will be returned to the rightful owner,” said Wan Junaidi in the Sarawak capital yesterday on the sidelines of the Kuching North City Commission’s Siol Mountain Bike XC Challenge at Bukit Siol.
He was commenting on the detention of 574 books (133 titles), 419 CDs and five DVDs by Customs through a detention notice dated October 25 at 3.17pm.
Wan Junaidi said the return of the Christian books and CDs was in line with the Federal Cabinet’s 10-point agreement on the use of ‘Allah’ in Christian literature. “There’s a need to protect religious materials in Sabah and Sarawak,” he reiterated.
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in confirming likewise on clearing the items which are “permissible in East Malaysia under the law”, implied that the Customs Department acted unilaterally.
“They should have consulted the Home Ministry before taking action,” he said in a media update. “There’s a need for agencies manning the country’s entry points to streamline their operations to avoid confusion.”
Pastor Maklin Masiau from Sabah vowed to take the Home Ministry to Court, if necessary, after he was detained for 40 minutes at KLIA2 and had his religious books and CDs seized by the Customs Department. He was advised by Customs to deal with the Home Ministry to seek the return of the items seized from him.
“I know the football game has just started,” wrote Maklin in a posting on his Facebook page, indicating that he was prepared for the long drawn process of getting his materials back from the authorities. “I have been cheated as a Sabahan to practise my religion as guaranteed under the Malaysia Agreement.”
“Even though I pleaded with them not to seize my things with all kinds of concrete reasons, they were steadfast in seizing them. Their main reason for the seizure was that the books and the CDs contained the word Allah.”
Maklin was in Kuala Lumpur en route to Kota Kinabalu from Medan in Northern Sumatra where he had bought the CDs, costing RM10,000, as Christmas gifts for his church, Bethel Mawar Saron.
Jill Ireland, a Melanau Christian from Sarawak, has meanwhile reminded the Home Ministry for the third time since July 21 to return the eight religious CDs seized from her on May 11, 2008 at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur on her way home from Medan, Northern Sumatra.
Justice Zaleha Yusof ruled on July 21 that the seizure by Customs officer Suzana Muin was illegal and that only the Home Ministry had such powers.
In her third letter, at the month end, Jill gave the Home Ministry and the Federal Government seven days to return the items she’s seeking as per the July 21 Court order which however did not set a compliance date. The Court also awarded her RM5,000 in costs. Her earlier letters, dated August 13 and August 21, were also written on her behalf by her lawyers, and addressed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers which did not respond.
Instead, the Home Ministry appealed on August 22 against the July 21 Court decision and cited the Appeal as a reason not to return the items despite the Court ordering their return.
Jill’s lawyer Annou Xavier warned that the Home Minister and the Federal Government will be cited for contempt of Court if they failed to comply with the third reminder.
All parties are scheduled to return to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on December 2 and the Court of Appeal on 10 February 2015 on various issues.
KUCHING: Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, a Sarawakian, has clarified that Christian books and CDs were seized on October 25 at KLIA2 from a pastor from Sabah and would be returned.
“Once the process of clearing and all is done, the Bibles or whatever documents they are, will be returned to the rightful owner,” said Wan Junaidi in the Sarawak capital yesterday on the sidelines of the Kuching North City Commission’s Siol Mountain Bike XC Challenge at Bukit Siol.
He was commenting on the detention of 574 books (133 titles), 419 CDs and five DVDs by Customs through a detention notice dated October 25 at 3.17pm.
Wan Junaidi said the return of the Christian books and CDs was in line with the Federal Cabinet’s 10-point agreement on the use of ‘Allah’ in Christian literature. “There’s a need to protect religious materials in Sabah and Sarawak,” he reiterated.
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in confirming likewise on clearing the items which are “permissible in East Malaysia under the law”, implied that the Customs Department acted unilaterally.
“They should have consulted the Home Ministry before taking action,” he said in a media update. “There’s a need for agencies manning the country’s entry points to streamline their operations to avoid confusion.”
Pastor Maklin Masiau from Sabah vowed to take the Home Ministry to Court, if necessary, after he was detained for 40 minutes at KLIA2 and had his religious books and CDs seized by the Customs Department. He was advised by Customs to deal with the Home Ministry to seek the return of the items seized from him.
“I know the football game has just started,” wrote Maklin in a posting on his Facebook page, indicating that he was prepared for the long drawn process of getting his materials back from the authorities. “I have been cheated as a Sabahan to practise my religion as guaranteed under the Malaysia Agreement.”
“Even though I pleaded with them not to seize my things with all kinds of concrete reasons, they were steadfast in seizing them. Their main reason for the seizure was that the books and the CDs contained the word Allah.”
Maklin was in Kuala Lumpur en route to Kota Kinabalu from Medan in Northern Sumatra where he had bought the CDs, costing RM10,000, as Christmas gifts for his church, Bethel Mawar Saron.
Jill Ireland, a Melanau Christian from Sarawak, has meanwhile reminded the Home Ministry for the third time since July 21 to return the eight religious CDs seized from her on May 11, 2008 at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur on her way home from Medan, Northern Sumatra.
Justice Zaleha Yusof ruled on July 21 that the seizure by Customs officer Suzana Muin was illegal and that only the Home Ministry had such powers.
In her third letter, at the month end, Jill gave the Home Ministry and the Federal Government seven days to return the items she’s seeking as per the July 21 Court order which however did not set a compliance date. The Court also awarded her RM5,000 in costs. Her earlier letters, dated August 13 and August 21, were also written on her behalf by her lawyers, and addressed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers which did not respond.
Instead, the Home Ministry appealed on August 22 against the July 21 Court decision and cited the Appeal as a reason not to return the items despite the Court ordering their return.
Jill’s lawyer Annou Xavier warned that the Home Minister and the Federal Government will be cited for contempt of Court if they failed to comply with the third reminder.
All parties are scheduled to return to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on December 2 and the Court of Appeal on 10 February 2015 on various issues.
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