KUALA LUMPUR: The case management for the judicial review application filed by Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) to challenge on the seizure of religious books which contained the word "Allah" will be on March 9.
High Court senior assistant register Arun Noval Dass will fix the date for the hearing of the merits.
This follows SIB's request for one month to respond to the affidavit filed by the government for the hearing proper, said federal counsel Norazalina Razali.
"SIB has to reply to the government's affidavit by March 2," she said after the parties met Arun in chambers.
SIB lawyer Bobby Chew said the Court of Appeal had granted leave to SIB in October last year for the hearing of merits.
On May 5 last year, SIB failed to get leave from the High Court for a judicial review.
Justice Zaleha Yusof ruled that she was bound by the Court of Appeal judgment dated Oct 14, 2013, which held that the word "Allah" was not an integral part of the faith and practices of Christianity.
In their application for leave on Dec 10, 2007, SIB and its Sabah president, Reverend Datuk Jerry Dusing, named the then Home Minister and the Government as respondents.
They filed the application after their religious publications for children were seized by the Customs at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang in August 2007.
Among others, the minister has refused the importation of four titles of the publications.
They are seeking to quash the minister's decision to prohibit the importation and withhold the delivery of the Sunday School publications on grounds that he acted unconstitutionally, erred in law
and acted without jurisdiction.
Rev Dusing was quoted as asking for a clear resolution in the matter as the ruling would be major issue for the SIB to address as they had been using the word in their prayers, sermons, education
and songs.
In granting leave, the Court of Appeal held that the judicial review application was not frivolous and vexatious.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
