Selangor orders state legal adviser to discuss bible issue with Attorney-General's chambers

The Selangor government has ordered the state legal adviser to discuss with the Attorney-General's Chambers to find a suitable way to resolve the issue of Malay bibles seized by the Selangor Islamic

Religious Department (Jais) last January.

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the order was made pursuant to a statement by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah that further action in relation to the bibles should be made according to existing and applicable legal procedures.

"The discussion with the Attorney-General's Chambers is to study how the seized bibles issue can be properly and quickly resolved and according to legal procedures.

"If this issue takes too long to be resolved, the public will feel that justice is not done quickly," he said after handing over funds to Tamil schools in Kuala Selangor District at INPENS International College, here today.

On Thursday, the Sultan's private secretary, Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani informed via an official statement that the Sultan of Selangor urged Jais to refer the matter to the public prosecutor to bring the matter to court.

Khalid said a discussion with the State Executive Council will be made on Monday regarding the Sultan's statement and any decision on the issue will be announced on the same day.

Previously, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail had announced that prosecution will not be done on the bibles issue and closed the case.

The Attorney-General's Chambers had studied the facts and evidence in the investigation into the seizure and decided the writing was not under Section 9 (1)(a) of the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988.

Khalid then ordered Jais to return the bibles but the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa disagreed with the Attorney-General and the Selangor government's order to return the bibles claiming it was beyond its authority.

On Jan 2, Jais raided the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) office in Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya and seized 300 copies of the Malay and Iban bibles in a move to stop the use of the word 'Allah' in the bibles which it claimed was against the enactment.