KUCHING: The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) is deeply concerned with the stand of the Federal Government taken in the recent case of Jill Ireland vs Minister of Home Affairs (involving the wrongful seizure of several Christian CD’s bearing the word Allah by the authorities from a Bumiputra Christian of Sarawak during her travel at the LCCT, Sepang even though the CD’s were meant for her personal use and practice of her religion) and that the 10-Point solution is merely a Federal Cabinet policy with no legal effect and only covers the importation and distribution of BM Bibles and has no application to other Christian books and materials.
Article VIII of the Malaysia Agreement provides that the State and Federal Government will take such legislative, executive and other action to implement the assurances, undertakings and recommendation in the Report of the Inter Governmental Committee (IGC report) that has not been expressly provided in the Federal Constitution.
The guarantee of religious freedom and assurances given to the people of Sabah and Sarawak on their inalienable right to practice their religion in peace and harmony without hindrance is provided in Chapter 3 of the IGC Report and its annexures and enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
A l t h o u g h t h e F e d e r a l Constitution does not expressly provide for the usage of certain words in religious books and materials, the 10 point solution signed by the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia is an executive action taken to recognise and implement the assurances and undertakings of religious freedom to the people of Sabah and Sarawak in the spirit of Article VIII the Malaysia Agreement.
The MA63 is recognised by and registered with the United Nations as an international Treaty. The 10- Point solution, therefore, has legal effect under Article VIII of MA63 as far as the right to religious freedom of the people of Sabah and Sarawak are concerned Furthermore, point No. 6 of the 10-Point solution clearly provides that there shall be no prohibition and restriction on the people of Sabah and Sarawak to bring their Bibles and Christian materials on their travel to Peninsular Malaysia and is not only confined to BM bibles.
The recent reported incident on a Church visit in Sabah by Home Ministry officials reminding Church officials not to use 4 religious terminologies including the word Allah in their Christian book and materials and advising on how to design, usage of certain font size in their religious book and materials is alarming and would not be in accordance with the spirit and intent of the IGC report, MA 63 and the Federal Constitution.
The fact that Jill Ireland had to go to the extent to file a Court action and wait 6 years before the Court ordered her wrongfully seized Christian CD’s to be returned to her shows the plight and anguish that Bumiputra Christian had to face and endure when practicing their religion in accordance with their constitutional rights.
Further, the contention by the representative of MAIS that the use of the word Allah in BM Bibles to describe God is incorrect and to be renamed and correctly translated by Dewan Bahasa danPustaka goes against the very grain of the right of religious freedom and the 10 point solution.
The ACS call on the Federal Government to uphold the constitutional right of religious freedom guaranteed to the people of Sabah and Sarawak in the sacred constitutional documents and international Treaty and implement the 10 point solution justly and lift the ban on the usage of the word Allah in BM Bibles and all Christian materials.
