The controversy over the ‘Interlok’ rose several notches today when the eight-member independent panel to review and amend the novel saw all its ethnic Indian members pull out this afternoon.

Following a meeting held at Parliament building with Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today, all three ethnic Indian panellists declared they were withdrawing from the government-created body.

According to writer Uthaya Shankar SB, the decision was taken after it became apparent that the other members of the panel had changed their minds and rejected one-by-one the 100 modifications that had been recommended to render the book appropriate for consumption by Form 5 students.

“We feel we were betrayed,” said Uthaya Shankar.

He claims that earlier, all eight panellists had reached a consensus over the matter.

On Tuesday night’s “Late Show,” David Letterman welcomed Mindy Kaling to talk about “The Office” and Steve Carell’s departure from the show. But, like most conversations that have occurred over the last two weeks, the topic soon turned to Charlie Sheen.

In the clip below, Kaling offers her musings on 2011′s biggest trainwreck and reveals she’s actually a little jealous of Letterman for being on such an “exciting” network where every day feels like a reality show. Steve Carell, she noted, isn’t going to call you “a traitor or a troll,” on set, and said she thinks it might be kind of fun to be work with someone as erratic and verbose as Sheen.

The Interlok issue is still burning hot among the Indians but the amazing thing is that MIC has not voiced out their objections on this matter, accused Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians.

DAP MP for Teluk Intan M Manogaran raised the Interlok issue for debate in the august House today, but it was rejected by the Speaker on the basis that although it was specific and of public interest, it was not urgent.

At a press conference in the Parliament lobby, Pakatan leaders Sim Tong Hin, Charles Santiago, M Manogaran and Nizar Jamaluddin expressed disappointment at the Speaker’s high-handedness.

They also slammed the MIC for remaining silent and not appealing to the Speaker for the subject to be raised.

Referring to the recent Kuala Kubu Baru incident where 3 students were questioned for 10 hours at a police station for returning the Interlok novel to the school principal, they accused the MIC of being under Umno’s thumb.

According to them, MIC MP for Hulu Selangor P Kamalanathan even instructed the students to apologise to the school principal instead of demanding an apology from the principal and the police.

“I am really surprised that the MIC MP could resort to such a move. Where is his voice in this matter?” Manogaran told Malaysia Chronicle.

Support undeserved

The novel, while telling a story of a past era in the 1920s, contains a reference to the Indians as “pariah”. It has riled the community but despite the animosity, Prime Minister Najib Razak has refused to order the book be dropped from schools’ reading lists.

Nizar, the PAS MP for Bukit Gantang, told Malaysia Chronicle that there are other more suitable books that could be used as Literature text and suggested ‘Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan’. According to him, this book was used in schools in the olden days right up to the late 1980s.

Nizar also questioned the motive of the Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in allowing this book to be used as Form 5 Literature text, when students’ minds were still impressionable.

“This issue has dragged on long enough. The government keeps saying that a panel has been set up to look into it each time this topic is being brought up and they have been giving that answer since the dawn of time, but till now, there has been no concrete solution. It is always the same old answer: ‘a panel has been set up to look into it’,” lambasted Nizar.

“It is amazing that MIC has allowed UMNO to bully them into silence, acquiescence and obscurity. MIC always proclaims that they are the only ones who can champion the cause of the Indians but their silence shows otherwise. Have MIC washed their hands off this matter? Is MIC so fearful and so subservient to UMNO that they let UMNO treat them in such a way?”

As the book also portrays the Chinese in a bad light, the Pakatan leaders also asked where was the MCA?

“It is forbidden in Islam to ridicule another race and PAS never does that,” added Nizar.

The Pakatan leaders also said it was poignant to note that the Indian vote started to return to BN at the point of the Hulu Selangor by-election when the community gave strong support to Kamalanathan, yet this was how he and the MIC repaid them.

“Being insulted by him would be painful, but you would have to be like, ‘that was an interesting experience.’”

And how does Kaling think Sheen’s wildness should be handled? If Kaling was in charge, she’d give him even more attention than he’s already getting.

“If I was the head of a network, I’d give him a reality show… That seems obvious,” she quipped.

The Christian community said today it is appalled by what it says is the Najib administration’s desecration of 5,100 holy books shipped in from Indonesia and has flat out refused to collect the Port Klang shipment.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), which represents over 90 per cent of churches in the country, insisted that Putrajaya immediately drop the conditions imposed for the release of two shipments of Malay Bibles totalling 35,000 copies seized from Port Klang and Kuching port.

Last night, the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) was told its shipment of 5,100 Alkitab — as the Malay Bibles are called — have been stamped with the Home Ministry’s official seal, as per the conditions imposed for the release issued two days ago, without its prior permission.

The first requires the importers to directly stamp on the cover of each of the 35,000 copies the following words: “Peringatan: ‘Al Kitab Berita Baik’ ini untuk kegunaan penganut agama Kristian sahaja. Dengan perintah Menteri Dalam Negeri.” [In English: “Reminder: This ‘Al Kitab Berita Baik’ is for the use of Christians only. By order of the Home Minister.”]

The cover of the Alkitab would be stamped with the department’s official seal and dated as well.

The second condition requires the importers to stamp a serial number on each copy as if to demarcate copies from the released shipment and to enable the book to be traced back to the port of import.

“This means that the Bahasa Malaysia Bible is now treated as a restricted item, and the Word of God has been made subject to the control of man. This is wholly offensive to Christians,” CFM said in a strongly-worded statement today signed by its chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing.

The umbrella body refuted government claims it had reached a compromise, saying it had never agreed that its holy books should be endorsed to say “it is only for Christians”.

“Any person who respects the Holy Scriptures of any religion would be appalled by this action. We will never accede to any desecration of the Bible since the Word of God to us is sacred,” it said.

Pointing to a 1982 order issued under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the CFM said nowhere in law was it stated that any form of words had to be endorsed on any copy of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Given that copies may already have been endorsed, we will NOT take delivery of those endorsed copies,” it added.

The CFM said it also wholly rejects the federal government’s argument that the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia is “prejudicial to the national interest and security of Malaysia”.

It condemned the government’s treatment of its holy books as “subversive publication”.

The CFM said Christian Malaysians have always acted in good faith and with great patience to reach a peaceful end to religious dispute that would not compromise their beliefs.

“But that good faith has not been reciprocated by the government,” it said.

It further accused Putrajaya of having moved the “goal posts” over the years “through a systematic imposition of unreasonable conditions and restrictions”.

“As Christians we wonder how our Holy Scriptures can become a national security threat where countless number of us find it helpful in bringing hope and healing to broken lives and homes which we can testify to,” it said.

The CFM called on all Malaysians to rally together and reject all attempts to control the freedom of religion in the country.

It also advised all Christians to remain calm and pray for a dignified and respectful resolution to the ongoing Alkitab row and noted that Sunday will mark the second year the holy books have been detained at Port Klang.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein defended today his ministry’s stamping of the 5,100 Malay-language bibles in Port Klang with its official seal, saying it was standard protocol and not done to “deface” the Alkitab.

The minister also said his men had no choice but to adhere to these procedures as the BSM had wanted the Bibles to be released quickly.

“We stamped the Bible based on amalan (practice) before… during Abdullah Badawi and even Tun Dr Mahathir’s time,” Hishammuddin told reporters today, referring to the two immediate past prime ministers.

Hishammuddin appeared to suggest that the Christian community’s uproar over what they considered a violation of their holy book to be manufactured.

“They wanted it to be released quickly… if they want to find fault they can find fault… you can even say the Bibles are smelly after being kept for so long, if you want to find fault (with everything),” the minister claimed.

He said his officials had no intention to deface the Bibles, stressing that the Christian community should engage his ministry directly if it had issues or complaints over the measures taken.