DAP: Jais raid on BSM sets dangerous precedent

(MM) – The raid by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) is an unacceptable attempt to apply Islamic law on non-Muslims, said DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng.

The Bagan MP noted that the Islamic authorities do not have the authority in law to enter the premises of non-Muslim religious establishments for inspection, search or raid, unless it is related to attempts to propagate non-Islamic religions to Muslims.

“For Jais to seize over 300 bibles in Malay and Iban at the BSM premises without a search warrant and authorisation cards as well as detaining BSM president Lee Min Choon and manager Sinclair Wong, is a dangerous and wrongful extension of Jais’ authority over non-Muslims,” he said in a statement criticising the Jais raid on BSM and Umno’s proposed demonstrations in front of churches this Sunday over the “Allah” row.

He said the Jais raid will be seen as an unprecedented attack and an erosion of the fundamental rights of freedom of religion as provided under the Federal Constitution.

“It was a constitutional provision accepted by everyone that Jais can only intrude on a non-Muslim premise in pursuit of Muslims that transgresses Islamic law or syariah but not against non-Muslims,” he said.

He said the constitutional right of freedom of religion shall and must include the rights of religious communities in the country to freely profess and administer their affairs.

He emphasised DAP’s stand that it is strongly against the application of Islamic laws on non-Muslims.

“The great irony is that Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno had been warning non-Muslims about the dangers of PAS imposing Islamic laws on non-Muslims, and yet BN has shown their true colours of hypocrisy and double-standard by using force and compulsion against non-Muslims in exactly what they had accused others of doing,” he said.

Today, Lim also endorsed BSM president Lee Min Choon’s call to the Christian community to keep calm and not to retaliate.

“The Christian community must remain calm even if Umno Selangor continues to bully and humiliate the Christian community by carrying out its wild and dangerous demonstrations in front of Catholic churches on Sundays,” he said.

On the demonstrations, Lim condemned Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for not censuring Umno Selangor’s proposal to demonstrate outside Catholic churches during their prayers on Sunday.

“Muhyidin is fanning the fire of religious hatred by agreeing with Umno Selangor’s threat to demonstrate outside Catholic churches on Sunday unless Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew retracts his statement and apologises over the use of the word “Allah” by Christians in the state in their Bahasa Malaysia masses.

“Never before has a governing political party been sanctioned to demonstrate outside a religious place of worship and our first three Prime Ministers of Malaysia would have reacted with utter horror at such an uncivilised act,” he said.

He accused Muhyiddin of behaving recklessly for political gain and labelled him as irresponsible for stating that Umno Selangor is acting within their lawful rights to do so.

“Such hostile acts of demonstrating outside Catholic churches on Sunday would damage interfaith relations and destroy the religious harmony assiduously built up in Malaysia by the various communities since Merdeka in 1957,” Lim said.

He demanded to know why it was allowed for Umno Selangor to demonstrate against Catholic churches but wrong to demonstrate against price hikes of sugar, petrol, power tariffs and highway tolls.

The “Allah” row, which started over four years ago has escalated in recent weeks with Umno Selangor and Muslim groups planning protests outside churches this Sunday over Christians’ refusal to yield to their insistence that “Allah” was exclusive to Islam in Malaysia.

The ongoing legal dispute between the government and the Catholic Church over its right to print the word “Allah” in the Herald’s Bahasa Malaysia section is still pending before the Federal Court, which is set to hear arguments from both sides on February 24 before deciding on whether it will hear an appeal by the Catholic Church.