Latest ‘Allah’ ruling gives more bite for states to curtail non-Muslims’ freedom, warn lawyers
(TMI) – The 10-point solution which Putrajaya brokered in 2011 to allow Christians in East Malaysia to use the word “Allah” in their Bibles and religious practices has no legal force in the light of Monday’s ruling by the Federal Court, lawyers say.
They said the 10-point solution now flies in the face of the legal principles established in the Court of Appeal ruling which upheld the Home Minister’s decision to ban the word “Allah” in the Catholic weekly, Herald.
On Monday, the apex court denied the Catholic Church’s application for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment which banned the word “Allah” in the weekly Herald.
The lawyers said the legal position was that Allah is exclusive to Muslims in Malaysia, a ruling which they warn would give ammunition for the Home Minister and state religious authorities to curtail non-Muslims’ religious freedom.
They also said that Putrajaya’s immediate statement following the ruling, saying it only applied to the Herald and that Christians could still use the word in church, was an exercise in damage control.
Former Bar Council chairman Ragunath Kesavan said while on the surface, the ruling only applied to the Herald, the fact that religious rights of the minority was now subject to Islam was a cause for concern.
The Court of Appeal had said Islam is the religion of the Federation but the phrase “other religions may be practised in peace and harmony” was intended to protect the sanctity of the religion.
It further said non-Muslims did not enjoy absolute freedom of religion because laws could be drawn up to stop propagation of other religious doctrines among Muslims.
Ragunath said based on the Court of Appeal ruling, the minister could revoke or suspend publishing permits of non-Muslim publications in Malaysia if they continued to use the word.
“Will he (home minister) take action against a Christian publication in Sabah and Sarawak at this point of time?” he asked, adding that there was no necessity for the minister to prohibit the Herald to use “Allah” as the weekly was confined to church members.
“It has now become a source of discontentment among the religous groups and I am dissapointed that the Federal Court did not give leave to decide to what extent the word can be used in the Federation,” he said.
He said Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, was spot on when he observed that the Federal Court’s decision meant that the confusion over the Allah row remained unresolved.
