By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, May 15: The Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) has withdrawn the government’s appeal against a High Court ruling that non-Muslims can use the word ‘Allah’ in Christian publications.
According to a Malay Mail report today, its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail during a function in Selangor, confirmed that the appeal was withdrawn through a notice of discontinuance filed on April 18.
Malaysia has been in the limelight because of a controversial 1986 ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ to describe the Christian ‘God’, even though it’s been used in that manner for over 100 years.
In 2008, Sarawakian Bumiputera Christian, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, brought eight CDs containing the word ‘Allah’ in their titles and upon her arrival at a Kuala Lumpur airport, immigration officials seized the items.
In 2015, she won the right to regain her CDs, but she maintained that the court had failed to address her constitutional right as a Christian to use the word, leading her court challenge to resume in October 2017.
On March 10, 2021, the High Court ruled that Christians nationwide can use the word ‘Allah’ and other words— ‘kaabah’, ‘solat’ and ‘baitullah’—in their religious publication for educational purposes.
The judge also ruled that a directive issued in 1986 to ban non-Muslims using the four words was “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
However, two days later, the government filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision. The Home Minister at the time was Dato Seri Hamzah Zainudin. — DayakDaily
