Be responsible when speaking about 'Allah' issue, says Home Minister

PUTRAJAYA: Politicians must be responsible when they speak about the government’s withdrawal of the appeal against a High Court decision over the use of the word "Allah" in Christian publications for educational purposes, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The Home Minister said that this is to avoid tension and disharmony.

“Politicians must be responsible. This is an emotive issue. While they want to rake in political profit by talking about the matter, they must not ignore the facts surrounding the issue,” he said.

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Saifuddin said this when met by reporters at the National Registration Department's excellent service award ceremony on Thursday (May 18).

The minister - who is also the Pakatan Harapan secretary-general - was asked to comment on concerns that the government’s move to withdraw its appeal against the decision might be used as a campaign tool during the upcoming state elections.

Saifuddin also said that the Cabinet would decide on parties to prepare the proposal to be presented to the Conference of Rulers on the use of the word “Allah”.

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He added that while the authority to enforce laws concerning such issues lies under the purview of his ministry, the Cabinet is to decide who will draft and present the proposed plan to the Conference of Rulers.

On May 15, the government withdrew its appeal against the High Court decision which allowed the word “Allah”, among others, to be used by non-Muslims in publications for educational purposes.

He said that the ministry has carefully examined the decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court of March 10, 2021, and found that there was a contradiction in the administrative instructions which caused the decision to favour Jill Ireland.

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He added this was related to the confiscation of published materials at that time, and not a theological issue involving the use of the word.

On March 10, 2021, Justice Nor Bee Ariffin, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, ruled that a 1986 Home Ministry directive to prohibit the use of the words Allah, “Baitullah”, “Kaabah” and “solat” by non-Muslims was illegal and unconstitutional.

This follows the court’s decision to allow a judicial review for Jill Ireland, a Christian of Melanau descent, to uphold the constitutional right to practise her religion.

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Jill Ireland initiated legal action in 2008, when eight CDs she had brought in from Indonesia were confiscated by Customs officers at an airport in Sepang as they contained the word “Allah”.

She then filed for a judicial review to challenge the seizure of the CDs as well as asking declarations from the court that her constitutional rights 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 was upheld by the Court of Appeal the following year, but she proceeded with her challenge on the Home Ministry’s directive that resulted in the forfeiture.