(May 28): A DAP lawmaker wants to know if Putrajaya has abandoned its 10-point solution on the Al-Kitab after its latest guidelines that bar Christian publications with the word “Allah” from entering Peninsular Malaysia.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said an explanation was needed from Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, who unveiled the standard operating procedure (SOP) draft to Christian leaders in Sabah and Sarawak in April, and to the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) on May 18.

She said the proposed guidelines went against the 10-point solution that was endorsed by the Cabinet in 2011, after dialogues with Christian groups.

The solutions include allowing bibles in all languages, including Malay and Bahasa Indonesia, to be imported and locally printed in the country, doing away with requirements for any stamp or serial number for the bibles in any language, as well as not having conditions for the religious books to be locally printed or imported to Sabah and Sarawak.

She said she could not understand how Kurup, who is a Christian himself, could bring himself to present the guidelines to the Christian leaders.

"He should know that the Christian community expects him to always be at the forefront, fighting against any unfair and unacceptable government proposal, measure or policy that will violate the constitutional principle of freedom of religion.

"He ought to have shot down the proposal, instead of presenting them," she said today.

Kok also questioned if the proposed guidelines came from Kurup himself.

"Did he seriously think that the Christian leaders willd accept such totally unacceptable proposals?”

She said the SOP draft was unacceptable for it went against the constitutional principle of freedom of religion and the pledge made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in April 2011 to allow the holy books to be distributed nationwide.

The general principle in the new rules is that Christian publications with the word "Allah" cannot be imported into Peninsular Malaysia, and if brought in, can only pass through with Sabah and Sarawak as their final destinations.

The draft rules also state that Al-Kitab, the Malay-language Bible, can be brought into the peninsula from Sabah and Sarawak but only for personal use, possibly because many Bumiputera Christians from the two states live, work or study in the peninsula.

This draft, if made effective, would mean that Al-Kitab cannot be imported directly into Peninsular Malaysia, and can only be brought by Christians from Sarawak and Sabah for private use.

It recommended that any person bringing such materials into the peninsula must obtain a letter of permission for import from the Home Ministry's Publication and Quranic Texts Control division. – The Malaysian Insider