ALOR SETAR: Four Finnish nationals who were arrested after allegedly distributing religious materials containing text from the Bible here have been sent back to Finland.
The four, aged between 27 and 60, were handed over to the Malaysian Immigration Department before they were sent home yesterday.
State Health, Rural Development, Religion and State-Government-Linked Companies committee chairman Datuk Dr Ismail Salleh said the four Finnish nationals were arrested on Nov 20 after allegedly distributing the materials to workers and traders at Jalan Pantai Chenang.
The police arrested the four, including two women, at a hotel in Langkawi and seized 336 notebooks containing text from the Bible, 47 pens and two suitcases.
“I was informed that they were arrested under Section 298 of the Penal Code and a charge sheet was going to be filed.
“But the prosecution team decided to send them home instead,” he said in a press conference after an entrepreneurial programme with 40 entrepreneurs here today.
Ismail urged the people in Langkawi to maintain the peace and harmony between all races and religions, and to avoid any provocation incident such as the distribution case, in fear of disrupting the peace of the nation.
“I’m really concerned with this incident, which is why I always emphasise that we should maintain a good relationship with one another regardless of race and religion, so we won’t be swayed by any seditious parties who are trying to ruin it,” he said.