Government won’t drop ‘Allah’ appeal

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani - The Malaysian Insider

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 18 — The government will be not withdraw its appeal against the High Court ruling allowing the Catholic Church to use the word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its newspaper, Herald.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (picture) explained that the government will instead wait for the judgment on the appeal.

“We will wait for whatever the judgment is based on the appeal that has been submitted,’ he told reporters after launching the MyID and Heads of Public Sector Conference at the Putrajaya International Convention Center here.

Muhyiddin also reiterated the government’s commitment to ensure peace and harmony in the nation.

“We are not only looking purely at the legal aspect but possibly to process engagement [and] dialogue by way of inter-religious discussion to create a better understanding,” he added.

Muhyiddin stressed that the country must respect the different religious beliefs and become 1 Malaysia.

“We can work together even though we have different religious beliefs but we are 1 Malaysia. So that should be the basis of how we look forward,’ he said.

The “Allah’ ruling caused an uproar within the Muslim community and led to 10 churches being firebombed or vandalised. A Convent school, one Sikh temple and a mosque were also attacked.