Too many implications

WE have been left with more questions than answers following the Court of Appeal’s decision banning the Catholic weekly The Herald from using the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia publication.

Along with shock and disappointment at the ruling, there were immediate concerns about its implications, particularly for Christians in Sarawak and Sabah.

The bumiputra Christian community here has long used the word “Allah” to refer to God in the practice of their faith, whether in worship, prayer or Bahasa Malaysia and native-language Bibles.

Our use of “Allah” for hundreds of years predates the birth of Malaysia and surely comes under the religious freedom promised to Sarawak at the formation of the country.

So Christians are right to be concerned over the decision, which overturns a 2009 High Court ruling that the Home Ministry’s ban on the use of the word was unlawful and unconstitutional as it violated Article 11 of the Consti- tution, which provides for freedom of religion.

The situation is not helped by the judges’ finding that “the use of the name ‘Allah’ is not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity”, despite the well-documented history of its use in Sarawak and Sabah.

Nevertheless, churches have made the stand that they will continue to use the word in their services. As Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS) chairman Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok said, “Christians in Sabah and Sarawak continue to reverently worship their Allah until the Kingdom comes. What are you going to do about it?”

Various groups and politicians have tried to assure Christians in the two states that the court decision only applies to The Herald and does not affect them.

Now it appears that the Federal Cabinet has also decided that there will be no restrictions on Christians in Sabah and Sarawak using the word “Allah” in their services and Bibles.

On the face of it, this looks like a piece of assurance to be welcomed by the Christian community in the two Borneo states.

But a pair of Sarawakian lawyers have warned that it would be naive for us to accept such pronouncements.

According to Baru Bian, the decision is now a legal precedent for similar cases anywhere in Malaysia.

He said the controversy over using “Allah” had been affecting Sabahans and Sarawakians even before The Herald brought its case to court in 2009.

“May I remind you about two cases that are pending decisions in the High Court. The first case was brought by Borneo Evangelical Church Sabah against the Home Ministry in 2007 for confiscating its Malay-language Sunday school materials containing the word ‘Allah’.

“The second concerns the 2008 government seizure of audio CDs belonging to Sarawakian Christian Jill Ireland Lawrence which also contain the word ‘Allah’,” he said in a statement.

Furthermore, he noted that thousands of native Christian Sarawakians and Sabahans who live and work in Peninsular Malaysia would be affected by the decision.

Baru’s colleague See Chee How said it was a “fallacy” to think that the ban is confined to The Herald because the court decision did not specify such a limitation.

He made the point that the Cabinet, as the executive branch of Government, had no overriding power over the judiciary. In other words, the Cabinet cannot confine or restrict the enforceability of a court decision except by amending the law to annul or invalidate it.

“Where does it say in the judgement that it only applies to The Herald? So the Cabinet cannot say it affects The Herald only and does not apply in Sarawak and Sabah.

“The enforcement agencies can prohibit the use of the word in other Christian publications in Sarawak and Sabah based on the grounds of the judgement, regardless of what the Cabinet says. It would be very naive to accept what the Cabinet says or believe that the decision does not affect Sarawak and Sabah,” he said.

See also said the most important thing Sarawakians could do now was to speak up on the issue.

“Sarawak has an important role to play in this matter. Because of our multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, we are unique and inherently a check and balance on racial politics.

“We must use our significant position to say we cannot have this kind of prejudice against any community in Malaysia. We should say we stand together with all other Christians in the peninsula. If we don’t fight for this, no one else will,” he said.

In the midst of the controversy, one thing is clear: We must not be silent but keep speaking up against injustice and prejudice. In doing so, let us steer clear of hatred and insults so as not to provoke greater intolerance, division and bigotry, but aim for reconciliation and unity while standing firmly for the right of every Ma- laysian to practise their respective faiths freely.