KUCHING: The recent return of 351 Bibles to the rightful owner has been described as a wise and correct decision by two BN Muslim leaders.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development) Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, when commenting on the issue yesterday, said the episode should not have happened.
“The seizure should not have happened in the first place; hence, the decision by the authority to return them is a wise decision. They should also apologise to the body who owns the Bibles,” he said.
Naroden, also Assistant Minister of Resource Planning, said the people were followers of different religious figures, but all have faith that there is one creator.
“So why make a big fuss over a name or its use if the word refers to God?”
He echoed Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s statement that the people were free to believe in any established religion and that the term Allah to refer to God Almighty was not an issue in the state.
Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah also said returning the Bibles was a correct move.
He wondered why those religious books were seized in the first place.
“Hopefully, lessons are learnt from this episode and no overzealous religious officials repeat the same mistake.”