KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 17, 2003 — A Bible, published by the Bible Society of Malaysia, has been banned by Malaysia's Home Ministry (KDN).
| Fact Box: Malaysia |
Population:
22,662,365 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34.1% (male 3,974,532; female 3,753,407)
15-64 years: 61.6% (male 6,995,451; female 6,969,435)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 424,776; female 544,764) (2002 est.)
Ethnic groups:
Malay and other indigenous 58%, Chinese 24%, Indian 8%, others 10% (2000)
Religions:
Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh; note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia
Languages:
Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Tha, indigenous languages
Literacy:
Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5%
male: 89.1%
female: 78.1% (1995 est.) |
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- Source: CIA World Fact Book
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The Iban-language Bible, known as the Bup Kudus, was among 35 books banned by the ministry last week, for being considered "detrimental to the public peace" of the largely Muslim nation.
According to an April 8 article on Utusan Malaysia Online, a statement issued by KDN publications control unit said, "Printing, importing, production, reproduction, sale, circulation, distribution and possession of books listed under the schedule are banned in the country."
Utusan Online goes on to say that if found guilty, offenders can be jailed or fined.
Thirty-four of the banned books are written in Bahasa Malaysia. The Bible is the only Iban language book that has been banned.
According to a recent article on crosswalk.com, Iban is the name of both a people group and the language spoken by the largest of 27 indigenous ethnic groups in Sarawak province on Borneo island. The Iban have had access to the entire Bible in their own language since 1988 when the local Bible Society published Bup Kudus.
Other Malaysian news sources indicate an association of local churches in Sarawak has appealed to the Home Ministry, saying without the Iban Bible, they cannot conduct church services.
The Crosswalk article states, "a representative of the Bible Society of Malaysia, Dr. Victor Wong, said Thursday the publishers were flabbergasted at why the government had chosen to ban the Iban translation 15 years after the first edition came out."
Christian leaders have reportedly scheduled a meeting with a government deputy minister later this month to discuss the ban.
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