June 3 date for ‘Allah’ in CDs case

By Clara Chooi - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Melanau Christian Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill’s challenge against the Home Ministry’s decision to confiscate eight compact discs containing the word ‘Allah’ will now be heard on June 3 for case management, the High Court ruled today.

High Court Deputy Registrar Halilah Suboh set the date today after meeting the 29-year-old clerk’s lawyer Annou Xavier and Senior Federal Counsel Andi Razalijaya A. Dadi, who is representing the respondents.

Annou told reporters later that it was his hope for the matter to be settled together with the government’s appeal on the controversial High Court ruling allowing Catholic weekly Herald to use the word “Allah” in its publication.

“They are both connected matters and I am afraid of the implications that would affect the Herald matter, should this case be unsuccessful,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

He noted that the appeal on the Herald decision was still pending at the Court of Appeal.

Jill Ireland’s case is expected to yet another to be closely scrutinised by all quarters, especially in view of the furore that the Herald’s case had sparked off.

The case had not only resulted in the spate of violent attacks on churches and other religious praying grounds nationwide, it had also widened the rift between supporters of both ends of the nation’s political spectrum and caused much uproar among Muslims and non-Muslims.

Another dispute over the “Allah” word is also pending in court between the Home Ministry and Sidang Injil Borneo who is suing the ministry for seizing six boxes of Christian educational publications containing the word “Allah” in 2007.

The case has been fixed on April 30 to allow all parties to reach an out-of-court settlement.

In Jill’s case, the Sarawakian is seeking for an order of certiorari to quash the ministry’s decision to seize the CDs, and a mandamus order directing the minister to return the CDs. She filed her application on Aug 20, 2008 and was granted leave to seek judicial review of the Home Ministry’s decision on May 4 last year.

She is also seeking a declaration that she has the legitimate expectation to exercise the right to use the word “Allah” and to continue to own and import such materials.

The disputed materials were confiscated from Jill’s possession after she disembarked at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang on May 11 upon returning from a flight from Indonesia.

In a letter on July 7 the same year, the Home Ministry explained its move, which was exercised under Section 9(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, saying that the religious materials were a threat to national security and had also breached the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) guidelines as it used prohibited words.

The CD titles include ‘Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah’, ‘9ara Menggunakan Kunci Kerajaan Allah’, ‘Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah’ and ‘Hidup Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah’.
Jill had contended that she uses the word “Allah” in her prayers, worship and religious education, and that the CDs were for personal consumption.