THE 'KALIMAH ALLAH' BIBLES MUST BE RETURNED TO THE CHRISTIANS, SAID AZMIN ALI

The Malay- and Iban-language Bibles seized by the state religious authority in January do not belong to the Muslims and must be returned to the Christians, Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said yesterday.

Azmin told some 1,000 DAP supporters at the party’s fund-raising dinner that he informed the Selangor palace of this, with the hope that the prolonged issue will finally be resolved.

“I have brought this matter to the Sultan... how the Alkitab does not belong to the Muslims. They belong to the Christians, whom we must respect,” Azmin said in his speech at the MBPJ Civic Hall.

“Islam has never asked its followers to disrupt the harmony of other faiths. It is our duty to respect the practise of the other religions in the country. This is a multi-religious society. This is not Saudi Arabia or Sudan. This is Malaysia. This is Selangor.

“This is why we are working on a formula, and I am confident that if they understand the true Islam, then the Bibles must be returned to the Christians.”

The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department seized 321 Bibles during a raid at The Bible Society of Malaysia’s (BSM) office in Damansara Kim on January 2, 2014. The raid pushed BSM to shift its operations to Kuala Lumpur.

Azmin’s predecessor, Khalid Ibrahim, was widely panned by DAP and even his own party, PKR, for not being able to resolve the Bible issue, which had dragged on for months with no resolution in sight.

But, Azmin, who was sworn in as the 15th menteri besar on September 23, told reporters yesterday he had met with the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and the Selangor Islamic Affaris Council (Mais) and that the outcome would be made known soon.

When he was sworn in more than a month ago, Azmin had promised to resolve the bibles issue immediately.

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CONFIRMED!!! Azmin Ali Proceed Legal Action Against Suara Keadilan and Hishamuddin Rais!

Azmin Ali has confirmed an initiation of legal proceedings against two Suara Keadilan editors and activist Hishamuddin Rais over what the PKR deputy president said is a highly defamatory article.

Suara Keadilan is PKR’s official party newsletter.

Azmin said letters of demand were sent two weeks ago to the party organ’s editors, Najib Hashim and Zulkiflee Anwar Haque (Zunar), as well as Hishamuddin, over a February 11 article published by the paper.

“The article was written by Hishamuddin Rais. I am used to attacks, but the contents of this article was very malicious and defamatory.

“I have a right to clear my name, so my lawyer sent out three letters of demand,” Azmin told The Malay Mail Online via telephone interview.

According to the Gombak MP, both Najib and Zulkiflee have responded and have also published an apology in last week’s edition of the paper.

But he said Hishamuddin has yet to reply to the legal letter.

Azmin said he will be meeting with his lawyer today to study the replies by Najib and Zulkiflee and to see whether there was a need to take it to court.

“That is why PKR formed a special committee. I mean this is our party organ, this is very serious,” the PKR man added.

Yesterday, PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail acknowledged that the matter was discussed in the party’s last central leadership committee meeting, leading to the formation of a 5-man panel led by publicity chief Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty.

Saifuddin said that the committee will meet with the paper’s editors as part of a fact-finding mission before taking any further action.

Azmin was reportedly aggrieved by the February 11 article that described him as subscribing to “Ketuanan Melayu” (Malay Supremacy).

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