PM tells Muslims not to 'heat up' Allah issue - Malaysiakini

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today called on Muslims to be calm and not "heat up" the issue of the High Court decision to allow a Catholic weekly to use the word "Allah" in its publication.

However, as he spoke, a group of 200 Muslims held a rowdy protest in Penang against the court decision.

The one-hour protest this morning outside the Penang High Court was led by a group calling itself Badan Anti-Interfaith Council (Badai). [Photos below]

Najib said the government was quite aware that the issue was sensitive as well as touching on the feelings of Muslims in the country and as such the government would deal with the matter with urgency.

"The government is very much aware and concerned of various reactions that it has received after the recent High Court decision.

"The issue is very sensitive and touches on the feelings of Muslims, we need to be calm now and let the matter be resolved through the courts," he told reporters.

As is known, an appeal can be made on the High Court decision to the Appeal Court and the Federal Court, he said when asked to comment on the various reactions to the High Court decision last Thursday that allowed Herald -The Catholic Weekly to use the word "Allah" in its publication.

Najib said the Home Ministry will file an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Besides that, the prime miniser will also inform the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin about the appeal process.

"They (the Home Ministry) will make an appeal and I will inform the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and if he wishes he will be briefed, as well as the Rulers' Council," he said.

Najib said a resolution to the issue was very sensitive and needed to be made wisely.

Don't complicate the matter further

He also hoped that the issue would not be further complicated with demonstrations, petitions and memoranda on the matter.

"I do not encourage (Muslims to demonstrate and the like), (but) I know the feelings among the Muslims, they feel discontented.

"I just hope that given the sensitive matter, we let the government handle the issue through appeal (in court)... and I don't want to heat up the matter, the government knows the feelings of the Muslims, let us find the best solution," he said.

Earlier, before he chaired a meeting of the Pekan Umno division committee meeting Najib received a memorandum from 24 Pahang non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the matter.

According to the spokesperson for the NGOs, Amidi Abdul Manan, who is also the deputy president of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), the Home Ministry should urgently file an appeal to soothe the feelings of Muslims.

"All quarters in the country need to respect the National Fatwa Council which has passed a fatwa to protect the purity and sanctity of Islam," he said.

Amidi said that according to the National Fatwa Council the word "Allah" was exclusive to the Islamic religion alone.

The Herald, which is printed in four languages, has been using the word 'Allah' as a translation for 'God' in its Malay-language section, but the government argued 'Allah' should be used only by Muslims.

The term 'Allah' is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak, most of whom speak Bahasa Malaysia.