KL lifts ban on Iban-language Bible

KL lifts ban on Iban-language Bible

MALAYSIA: The government of mainly-Muslim Malaysia has agreed to
lift a ban on an edition of the Bible published in the language
of the indigenous Iban tribe, acting Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi said.

"I have decided that the ban be lifted," Abdullah was quoted
as saying by the official Bernama news agency late Friday.

The decision to review the ban comes after a protest and an
appeal by Malaysia's Council of Churches.

Some 60 percent of Malaysia's 23 million people are Muslims,
while under 10 percent are Christians. There are also large
Buddhist and Hindu minorities and the constitution allows
religious freedom.

The complete text with the Old and New Testaments in the Iban
language has been widely used by churches in Sarawak on Borneo
island since its first edition in 1988. It was among 35 books
recently banned by the ministry. --AFP