Allah issue, decision next month

Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew giving a press statement at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya. The court will deliver a decision on th
The Home Minister did not have sufficient material before him when he made the decision to ban the word Allah in the Herald, the Court of Appeal heard today.

"He did not have enough evidence to ban the word on grounds of national interest and public order," said counsel Porres Royen who represented the Catholic Church.

Royen said the minister also imposed an unreasonable restriction on the publication as the word was intended only for Christians.

"This ban was a gross violation of a constitutional right, " he said in defending the 2009 High Court ruling in favour of the church.

On December 31, 2009, the High Court allowed the church's judicial review application and lifted the home minister's ban on the use of the word in the Herald.

Among other things, judge Lau Bee Lan had said then that the church had a constitutional right to use the word Allah in its newspaper on grounds that religions other than Islam can be practised in peace and harmony.

Royen, in his submission today said the government could not use events after the High Court ruling to reverse the court order.

Earlier, the government lawyer Suzana Atan, told the court that after the High Court ruling, there were several arson attempts on churches and an incident in which vandals tossed a pig’s head into a mosque.

Royen told the three-man bench that the government relied on public opinion that a "certain section of the society" was sensitive to the use of the word but pointed out that public opinion was irrelevent as legal and constitutional issues were now before the court.

"Non-Muslims have been using this word for a long time and there was no problem. We are not using the word to target Muslims. But we have the right to use it on non-Muslims to propogate the religion," he said.

He also told the bench, led by Datuk Seri Mohamad Apandi Ali, there was a ban on the word since 1986 but the government only imposed a prohibition in 2009. Also on the bench were judges Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim and Datuk Zawawi Salleh.

"The Herald started its publication in 1994 and the usage of the word prior to 2009 was never an issue," he said.

Royen said lawyers for religious councils had stated that state enactments prohibited the use of the word Allah.

He, however, pointed out the state laws should be read together with the Federal Constitution, especially the right of non-Muslims to practise their religion in peace and harmony.

Apandi then interjected and said that it could also mean that non-Muslims must practise their religions in peace and harmony in the interest of Islam.

Royen replied the constitutional safeguard was there to protect the rights of the minority.

"It also does not mean that non-Muslims must conform with Islam," he said.

Lawyers for councils had said that Islam being the official religion of the Federation had a special status.

Royen also questioned why the word was prohibited in the publication but was allowed to be used in the Malay, Indonesian and the ethnic languages of the Sabahan and Sarawakians.

"In legal terms, the minister was irrational," said Royen, adding that the prohibition came about because there were busy-bodies.

"For generations Christians have been using the word even in the Arab world and everything was fine," he said.

Abdul Aziz: How will this affect your client if the word is prohibited?

Royen: There is no other way to describe God in Malay except by using the word Allah.

Aziz: The government lawyer (Suzana) has indicated that this will cause a lot of confusion among Muslims.

Royen: This is not an issue about theological differences but our constitutional right to use the word.

Another lawyer Benjamin Dawson said the words "Lord" and "God" were used in the Bible about 8,000 times and the correct translation was "Allah".

Aziz: The minister is concerned that Allah only appeared in the Koran and is exclusive to Muslims.

Dawson said the word was used in the Herald which was only for Christians and that the newspaper was not for sale to the public.

At this juncture Apandi interjected and stated that even Harakah (PAS newspaper) and The Rocket (DAP newsletter) had the word "for members only" but was sold to the public.

Dawson said the 10-point solution by the Cabinet in 2011, just before the Sarawak election was to address the use of the word in the Bible.

"The 10-point solution is not about a book but about the word," he said.

Suzana who was given the right to reply clarified that the 10-point solution was about Bibles coming from Indonesia.

The Allah row erupted in early 2009 when the home ministry threatened to revoke the Herald’s newspaper permit for using the word when referring to God.

This action prompted the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights.

The High Court allowed the church's judicial review application and lifted the home minister's ban.

Judge Lau Bee Lan said that the church had a constitutional right to use the word Allah in its newspaper on grounds that religions other than Islam can be practised in peace and harmony.

After submissions yesterday, Apandi said the court will deliver its decision next month.

He, however, pointed out that they will also take notice of the crowd outside the Court of Appeal.

"This in itself shows the sensitivity of the issue," he said.

Outside the court room at the Palace of Justice, a large group of people comprising Muslim and Christian had gathered.

Apart from Malay right wing group Perkasa and other Malay rights groups such as Pekida and Yayasan Dakwah Islam Malaysia (Yadim), several Christian groups from Sabah and Sarawak were also in the crowd. - September 10, 2013.