By Adrian Lim
KUALA LUMPUR, March 16: The federal government has filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision to allow Christians to use the word “Allah” in preaching and publications.
According to various media reports, the notice of appeal was filed in the High Court registry here.
In the notice of appeal, it stated that the Home Minister and the government were not satisfied with the ruling and appealed to the appellate court.
On March 10, High Court Justice Nor Bee Ariffin ruled that a Home Ministry directive in 1986 that banned the use of “Allah”, “Baitullah”, “Kaabah” and “solat” by non-Muslims was illegal and unconstitutional.
This follows the court’s decision to allow a judicial review by a Sarawakian Christian, Jill Ireland.
Ireland, a Melanau Christian filed the judicial review in 2008 after eight compact discs (CDs) which she brought in from Indonesia contained the word “Allah” and was confiscated by Customs officers upon her arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
The titles of the CDs were “Cara Menggunakan Kunci Kerajaan Allah”, “Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Metode Pemuridan Kerajaan Allah”, “Pribadi Yang Bertumbuh Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Hidup Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Pemerintahan Kerajaan Allah Dalam Hidup Kita” and “Rahasia Kerajaan Allah”.
Ireland then filed for a judicial review to challenge the seizure of the CDs and to obtain declarations from the court that her constitutional rights to practise her religion were violated, among others.
In 2014, the High Court ordered the Home Ministry to return the CDs to her but did not address the constitutional points as it was bound by a Federal Court ruling.
The order to return the CDs to Ireland was upheld by the Court of Appeal the following year but she continued with her challenge to the Home Ministry’s directive for the CDs to be returned back to her. — DayakDaily
