Unity Department D-G tells Malaysians to stop talking about ‘Allah’

Let the courts decide, says Azman. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Putrajaya urged Malaysians today to refrain from discussing the controversy over the word “Allah” being used by non-Muslims to refer to their gods.

National Unity and Integration Department (NUID) director-general Datuk Azman Amin Hassan said that the contentious row should be left to the courts to resolve, referring to the federal government’s appeal against a 2009 High Court judgment that ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.

“Everybody shouldn’t discuss about it because it creates a lot of animosity,” Azman told The Malaysian Insider today.

“We’ve got to still wait for the final (court) decision to ease the situation,” he added.

The High Court ruled in December 2009 that the Catholic Church has the right to use the word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its weekly publication The Herald.

But the Home Ministry filed an appeal against the ruling in January 2010. No court date has been fixed for the hearing yet.

Azman, who also heads the Cabinet’s Special Committee to Promote Understanding and Harmony Among Religious Adherents (JKMPKA), said the interfaith panel was discussing the matter internally, but refused to divulge details, saying only that “all religious leaders understand the issue.”

A Buddhist group has urged the NUID to resolve the long-drawn out dispute after Malay rights group Perkasa recently called on Muslims to burn Malay-language bibles that contain the word “Allah” and other religious Arabic script.

The tug-of-war over the word “Allah” between the Muslims and non-Muslims, particularly the Christian community, first arose in 2007 when the Catholic Church was banned from using the Arabic word in The Herald.

Other cases include Sarawakian Christian Jill Ireland’s court challenge against the Home Ministry for its 2008 seizure of her personal collection of religious CDs bearing the word “Allah” at an airport.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court had on May 4, 2009, granted leave to the ethnic Melanau to challenge the Home Ministry’s act, saying that Jill had the right to “own, receive, use, import, distribute and possess” any material with the word “Allah” on it.

In the terms of the order, Jill was also granted a declaration that it was a “legitimate expectation” for her to possess or use these materials for the purpose of conducting her religious faith freely.

Despite the formation of the JKMPKA in 2011, there appears to be no serious inroads made to the “Allah” issue, with Putrajaya yet to give a clear stand.

But following the controversial blocking and confiscation of Malay-language bibles containing the word “Allah” catering to Bumiputera Christians in 2011, which were subsequently released by the government, a 10-point formula was drawn up in April 2011.

In the Najib administration’s 10-point resolution, the Cabinet, through its minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala, assured the large Bumiputera Christian population in Sarawak and Sabah that they were free to bring in and use their bibles in Malay as well as in indigenous languages.

Jala also said that the Bible could now be printed locally in any language, including in Iban, Kadazan-Dusun and Lun Bawang.

An April 2011 circular to Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing signed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself stated that Christians and those of other faiths can import and use bibles in any languages, including Bahasa Malaysia.

The “Allah” issue could affect voter support for political parties in the next general election that must be called by April.

The issue was previously turned into election fodder during the 2011 Sarawak polls, where many of the voters there were from the Christian community.