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