Police question Catholic priest under sedition
(TMI) – Police are investigating the editor of the Catholic weekly Herald, Father Lawrence Andrew (pic) under the Sedition Act, for saying that the word Allah will continue to be used in Bahasa Malaysia services in churches in Selangor.
“I was questioned by the police regarding my statement in an article which was published in The Malaysian Insider. I gave them a full explanation of the issue,” Lawrence told reporters at the Selangor police headquarters today.
His lawyer, Francis Pereira, said his client was being investigated under Section 4 of the Sedition Act 1948.
Andrew had previously said that all churches in Selangor would continue to use the word Allah in their Bahasa Malaysia services.
He said the Federal Constitution guaranteed the freedom of religion for all Malaysians.
“I explained to the police that we have been using the word Allah in the Bahasa Bible for a very long time,” he said.
Andrew said that during the interview, he had showed the police a Bahasa Melayu version of the Bible which is more than a 100 years old.
His statement was recorded by investigating officer Assistant Superintendent Effandi Main.
“I gave a copy of the translated Bible to the police,” he said, adding that the Bible was dated 1905.
