PETALING JAYA: The Catholic Church will discuss with the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the Home Ministry’s order to allow the conditional use of the word “Allah” in Christian publications.
The lawyer representing Catholic weekly magazine The Herald, Porres Royan said there was a need to study the implications following the order that required the publications to indicate that the material was only for Christians.
The directive, made under the Internal Security Act, was gazetted by the Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar on Feb 16.
Asked to comment on the magazine’s March issue which will carry the words “Untuk Agama Kristian” (For Christianity) close to its masthead, Royan said the order was not only for The Herald.
“It’s not a question of The Herald accepting it (the order), but of following the law as it is gazetted,” he told The Star on Friday.
The magazine’s editor Father Lawrence Andrew said there was now “no fear” on his part as the magazine had included the disclaimer in its next issue.
“So, in a way, there is a sense of security that our publishing permit would be renewed,” he said.
“We want to live in peace and harmony with one another and will do what we can to help ensure freedom and justice,” Father Lawrence added.
In a mention of the case on Friday, the High Court fixed May 28 as the date of the hearing for the Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur’s application to recall and set aside the order for intervention from various religious bodies.
The court also decided that the application by the interveners’ to refer the case to the Federal Court be heard on July 7.
The religious bodies involved are the state Islamic Councils of Federal Territory, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Johor, Malacca, the Malaysia Chinese Muslim Association (Macma) and the Malaysian Gurdwara Association.
Meanwhile, the Council of Churches of Malaysia has called on the Government to accept the use of the term “Allah” as a heritage that is not exclusive to one religion.
“We further urge the Government not to attempt to regulate or circumscribe its use through the introduction of pre-conditions and by punitive criminal legislations,” said the council’s general-secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri in a statement on Friday.
He was responding to the order issued by the Home Ministry that Christian publications may use the word “Allah” if they indicate that the material is for Christians.
Dr Hermen also questioned why the order was specific to Christianity and cited the Sikh religion as an example of another creed which referred to “Allah” in their sacred texts.
He pointed out that the order would also cause those who have publications using the word “Allah” to be at risk of possessing prohibited documents unless they ensure that the words “Untuk Agama Kristian” or “For Christianity” in bold font type Arial of size 16 placed on its front cover.
“This is an unfair imposition and unwarranted restriction on the practice of the Christian religion in this country,” Dr Hermen said, adding that the conditions was also a limitation on the freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.
“We regret that the Government did not see fit to engage with us before introducing this order,” he said.
(Source : By YUEN MEIKENG, The Star)
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