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Ban on 'Allah' word only applies to one Catholic weekly

Malaysian government minister clarifies court ruling
Ban on 'Allah' word only applies to one Catholic weekly

Picture: Herald Malaysia

Published: October 16, 2013 07:01 AM GMT
Updated: October 15, 2013 08:10 PM GMT

The ban on the use of the word Allah only applies to the Catholic weekly, Herald, and not other Christian publications or the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia bible which is widely used in Sabah and Sarawak, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar .

He said the Cabinet decision to allow the use of Allah in Bahasa Malaysia or native language bibles in Sabah and Sarawak and the assurance given by Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud in 2011 still stand, thereby suggesting that the government does not believe that the word is exclusive to Muslims.

But the issue (the ban on the word Allah in the Herald) is not over yet, he added, and believed there would be an appeal to the Federal Court.

He added that the decision made by the Federal Court later could change all that.

However, he said the Federal Court ruling could still be over-ridden by a political decision.

“Decisions made by the courts are case laws. Even though they become part of the law of the country, they are normally not enforceable.

“That means you can't get the police or other agencies to enforce them. They are not statute laws (laws passed by parliament),” he told reporters after joining his constituents in Kampung Tabuan Hilir in the slaughtering of cows and distribution of meat to the poor in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidil Adha.

Full Story: Allah not exclusive to Muslims, government declares ban only applies to Herald

Source:Herald Malaysia

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