Lawyers: Royal verdicts on ‘Allah’ row must pass constitutional test
By Joseph Sipalan, The Malay Mail
Decrees by the nation’s rulers must be in line with the Federal Constitution if the authorities intend to act on them, several lawyers said after Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzan Shah openly declared his stand in support of giving Muslims exclusive rights over the word “Allah”.
The legal experts said there is no question as to the position of the country’s apex law as all Malaysians, including rulers like Sultan Abdul Halim who is also the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, are required to abide by the constitution.
“We are no longer an absolute monarchy. We now practice a constitutional monarchy, so whatever they (rulers) say or do must take into account the constitution,” Bar Council human rights committee co-chair Andrew Khoo said when met by the The Malay Mail Online.
Khoo said all rulers should first seek advice from their states’ respective executive council — or from the Federal Cabinet in the case of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong — before they can make a pronouncement.
He added that it is important to determine in what capacity a ruler is making a pronouncement or decree, as it will weigh in on how it applies to his subjects.
“If it is as the head of Islam, then it is not binding on non-Muslims. If it is in the capacity of a constitutional monarch, then it needs to be checked against the constitution, and we have the right to test it,” Khoo said.
Civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan argued that under Malaysia’s current legal system, any decree by a ruler is not legally binding as all matters in the country are subject to the constitution.
He said that even if Sultan Abdul Halim’s pronouncement yesterday was specifically for the state of Kedah, it would still be subject to the state constitution.
“At best, we should treat it as the opinion of his Royal Highness, and certainly not a binding or final decision on the issue,” he said when contacted.
Syahredzan noted, however, that the Sultan was simply reiterating a position that the state had taken up over two decades ago, when the Control and Restriction of Propagation of Non-Islamic Religions Enactment came into force in 1988.
“It’s the same thing as the Sultan of Selangor said. It is a reiteration of what is said by the states,” he said, referring to a statement by Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj, who cited a similar enactment that was also made law in his state in 1988.
“It’s not anything new… the issue is whether that position is the correct position from a legal standpoint, and you solve that legal conundrum based on principles found in the constitution,” he said.
In a speech yesterday, Sultan Abdul Halim reminded all parties that the National Fatwa Council had already ruled in 1986 that several words, including “Allah”, can only be used exclusively by Muslims while non-Muslims are banned from uttering them.
“In the context of multi-racial society, religious sensitivity, in particular Islam as the official religion of the Federation, must be observed.
“Confusion and controversy could be averted if all party abide by the law and judicial decisions,” the King was quoted as saying in the speech, according to the New Straits Times.
His speech was read out by Sultan of Kedah Council of Regency chairman Tan Sri Tunku Annuar Sultan Badlishah during the investiture ceremony held in conjunction with the Sultan of Kedah’s 86th birthday at Istana Anak Bukit.
Last November, Sultan Sharafuddin issued a decree calling all citizens in Selangor to respect and follow the decision made by the National Fatwa Council, the Selangor State Fatwa Committee, existing laws.
His decree was in response to the Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision in October to overturn a High Court ruling in favour of allowing the Herald to continue using the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia section.
The case is now pending a March 5 hearing for leave to appeal at the Federal Court.
Temperatures have risen of late over the so-called “Allah” row that remains unresolved four years after it shocked the nation and led to the worst religious strife in the country’s history.
On January 3, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) moved to enforce the ban and raided the office of a bible distributor before carting off with over 300 Malay and Iban language bibles that contained the word “Allah”.
Church groups and lawmakers bristled at the move and accused the authorities of violating the 10-point solution mooted by Cabinet in 2011 to resolve the issue.
The 10-point solution, issued by the Najib administration shortly before the Sarawak state election in 2011, allowed for bibles in Malay and indigenous languages to be printed, imported and distributed nationwide with certain conditions imposed for Peninsula Malaysia.
Christians make up close to 10 per cent of the Malaysian population, or 2.6 million. Almost two-thirds of them are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as “Allah” in their prayers and holy book.
