An on-going battle to bring Bibles to Malaysia has taken a new twist – with a prominent Catholic bishop and the opposition political party denouncing new restrictions.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has ruled that 35,000 Bibles impounded at two Malaysian ports must be stamped with the words “For Christians Only” and carry a serial number.

Such conditions, said Bishop Paul Tan, are like freeing a prisoner, then placing him under house arrest. He said the conditions were “crass forms of censorship” and a throwback to the Communist era.

Tan, who heads the Malacca-Johor diocese, said while the release of the seized Bibles was welcomed, the conditions, however, were unacceptable to Christians who were “duty-bound to bring the good news of salvation to all who want to listen.”

Tony Pua, speaking for the opposition political party DAP called the government’s actions “ridiculous, excessive and repressive.”

“It’s like saying every non-Muslim in this country must stamp the number 666 on their forehead,” he told the website FreeMalaysiaToday.