Federal Court sets Jan 21 to hear ‘Allah’ appeal

(The Star) – The Federal Court has set Jan 21 to hear the Catholic Church’s judicial review application against a decision denying it leave to appeal a ban on the use of the word “Allah” in weekly publication, Herald.

On June 23 this year, a seven-member panel of the Federal Court, chaired by Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria, in a majority judgment, dismissed the Catholic Church’s application for leave to appeal.

The church is seeking leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision delivered on Oct 14, last year, which allowed the Government’s appeal to overturn the 2009 High Court’s decision that the Herald could use the word, “Allah”.

On Dec 31, 2009, the High Court declared that the decision by the Home Ministry in banning the Herald from using the word, “Allah”, was illegal, null and void.

The Roman Catholic Church, led by Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam filed a judicial review application in 2009, naming the Home Ministry and the Government as respondents, seeking, among others, a declaration that the Ministry’s decision to prohibit the use of the word, “Allah”, in the Herald was illegal.