Christian leaders harden stand on Allah, say Putrajaya misleading East Malaysians on court ruling
(TMI) – Christian leaders in Sabah and Sarawak have vowed to carry on using the word Allah even if it meant being prosecuted under a Home Ministry directive allowed by a court ruling.
They also accused Putrajaya of trying to mislead Christians from East Malaysia into believing that the Court of Appeal ruling was only applicable to the Catholic weekly, Herald.
They said they will speak up on this issue as this is what their respective congregations expected them to do.
In Sarawak today, the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) will hold a public forum to address the use of the word Allah as it “relates to religious freedom”. The forum will address the legal implications of the Court of Appeal ruling, on whether the decision only affects the use of the word in the Herald in Peninsular Malaysia.
Catholic Bishop for the Keningau diocese in Sabah Datuk Cornelius Piong said Sabahans, especially the Kadazan, Dusun and Murut natives, have been using the word for generations and will continue doing so.
“Who is going to stop us? Even God allows us to use the word,” he said, calling the move to restrict the use of the word illogical.
His conviction was supported by the Bishop for the Sandakan diocese, Datuk Julius Dusin Gitom, who said that whatever views the church leaders expressed reflected the congregation’s feelings.
“We will continue to use the word until they prosecute us,” he said.
Gitom also took to task government leaders for “hiding” the real extent of the ruling by saying that the Court of Appeal ruling was limited to the Herald.
“It is not the case and the people know that. It is a blanket ban which affects everyone.”
He also accused political parties Umno and PAS of trying to outdo each other in being more Islamic, which he added was a contributor to the Allah problem.
