THE outcry against a lawyer’s suggestion that Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) provide an official translation of the Al-Kitab or Malay bible continues, with the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) calling it an infringement of the Federal Constitution.

CFM chairman Archbishop Julian Leow Beng Kim said the suggestion by Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla was patronising and also a “heinous” offence against Christians who believe that Scripture is divinely inspired.

Haniff is the counsel for the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) in Sarawakian Jill Ireland’s suit against the government over the constitutional right to use the word “Allah” for “God” in Christian publications.

He proposed that DBP do an official translation of the Bible in Malay on grounds that Christians in Sabah and Sarawak have been wrongly using the word. Haniff later told The Malaysian Insight that he stood by his statement.

“This is patently another attempt to infringe upon the constitutional right of Christians, as enshrined in Article 11 (3) of the Federal Constitution, to manage their own religious affairs.

“The Holy Bible and the Al-Kitab in Bahasa Malaysia form part of the sacred patrimony of Christians and any attempt by any person not authorised by the Christian churches to provide an authoritative version will be firmly rejected,” Leow said in a statement.

“This is not just an outrage to Christians and their sensibilities. It will be a most heinous form of offence against what all Christians believe to be divinely inspired scriptures, the word of God.”

Leow said “Allah” has been used “since time immemorial” by local Christians as well as those in the Middle East.

The archbishop said everyone should remember the recent statement by Selangor’s ruler, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, that all the state’s citizens should respect the main principles in the Federal Constitution for the country’s harmony and peace.

He also said Malaysians should remember the statement on October 10 by the Conference of Rulers which upheld the core principles of the Constitution which were drafted based on the country’s religious and ethnic diversity. – November 20, 2017.