KERATAN AKHBAR THE STAR, SABTU 16HB APRIL 2005 (Page 12, Nation)
HAVE TIES WITH VATICAN,GOVT TOLD.
Kota Kinabalu : The time is right for Malaysia to establish diplomatic links with Vatican City in view of the country involvement in various international forum.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said the Goverment had yet to make a decision on his proposal for Malaysia to forge a diplomatic ties with the Vatican.
"There have been discussions on the matter but no decision have been made yet," he said
Dompok, who represented Malaysia along with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Abdullah Md Zin at the funeral Pope John Paul II recently, said a number of middle eastern countries had already established such ties.
On a statement by Minister In the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Nazri Aziz that Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia Or Bahasa Indonesia were banned, Dompok said he had voiced his opposition to the cabinet on this matter.
"Our national language is for all Malaysians and should be use for all purposes including worship. This is part of nation building," Dompok said, adding that the cabinet members had "various shades of opinions" on the matter.
The Catholic church in Malaysia said that prohibiting Christian for translating the Bible into a language some of the could understand contradicted the Federal Constitution which allowed every religious groupthe right to manage it's own religious affairs.
The church said the Bible is essential to Christian in their worship to God.
