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SHAH ALAM: Representatives of about 100 Islamic-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were holding a heated press conference at the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) office when they were abruptly interrupted by a fire alarm and the smell of smoke wafting into the room.
Everyone present scampered out of the room and ran 10 flights of stairs down to the lobby.
Apparently, a small fire started at about 12.20pm yesterday on the ninth floor of the building – one floor below where the conference was being held.
Thirteen Fire and Rescue Department officers arrived half an hour later and put out the flames.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department operations director Mohd Sani Harul said the fire was caused by a faulty transformer in an air-conditioning unit.
“There was little property damage, although the amount of smoke caused a bit of a scare. No one was injured,” he said.
Before the event at the Mais office, the NGOs lodged reports with the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) against Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as the group wanted Jais to investigate the Attorney-General for allegedly breaching the state’s Syariah enactment with his stand over the Jan 2 seizure of 321 Malay- and Iban-language Bibles – which use the term “Allah” – from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) premises in Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya.
On June 11, Abdul Gani announced that his office would not proffer charges against the BSM over the distribution of the books and also ruled that the seized books did not involve issues of national security.
He said it was now up to Jais to pursue the next course of action in accordance with the law.
The NGOs lodged the reports after meeting with Mais chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa at the council’s office yesterday.
Also at the meeting were Jais officers who were involved in the seizure.
According to the group’s spokesman Muhamad Hafiz Muhamad Nordin, they have requested all Islamic NGOs to lodge reports so that Jais could open an investigation paper against the Attorney-General.
He said the NGOs wanted Jais and Mais to ask Abdul Gani to explain his stand and statement on the matter.
“The Attorney-General should resign or Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak must remove him from office,” said Muhamad Hafiz.
The NGOs also lauded the stand by Jais and Mais to not return the seized Bibles to the BSM.
“We stand by Jais and Mais 100%. Why must the Bibles be returned?” Muhamad Hafiz asked.
He added that if the Bibles were returned, it would undermine Jais’ authority.
Hush-hush Selangor meet on seizure of Bibles
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SHAH ALAM: A meeting between the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and Mentri Besar ended more than two hours later with none of them revealing what transpired behind closed doors.
When asked, Jais deputy director-general Ahmad Zaki Arshad refused to comment, only saying: “Buat pun salah, tak buat pun salah (Damned if you do, damned if you don’t).”
Reporters were then told to seek comments from Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim at the state secretariat building lobby. However, after an hour or so, the mentri besar’s car left without Khalid meeting the media.
The meeting with the relevant authorities, including Selangor Mufti Datuk Seri Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahid, was to reach a consensus on the seizure of Bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) before seeking a decision from Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Meanhile, Bernama reported that Gerakan has urged Khalid to exercise authority over Mais to return the seized copies of the Bible.
Party president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said it was high time Khalid ensured that Mais would return the confiscated Bibles to the BSM with a guarantee that similar incidents will not recur.
“He has two-thirds’ support from the Selangor state assembly and the Attorney-General’s Chambers has also cleared the legal hurdles for him to take necessary action, it is now time for him to show political will and set things straight again.”
Following Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s decision not to prosecute the BSM, Khalid instructed Jais to return the seized Bibles to the society.
Mais chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa, however, said it was outside the Selangor Government’s jurisdiction to issue the directive.
