KUALA LUMPUR – Police have left it to the government to resolve the use of the word “Allah”, said top cop Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
He also said he believes there will be a briefing involving the Conference of Rulers regarding the issue.
“We leave it to the government to resolve this matter because I believe there will be a briefing with the Conference of Rulers on it,” he said during an event with members of the media at Bukit Aman police headquarters here today.
Previously, the Malaysian government and Home Ministry withdrew the appeal against the high court decision, which ruled that Christians can use the word “Allah” and three other Arabic words – “baitullah”, “solat”, and “Kaabah” – in the publication of their religious materials for learning purposes.
It is understood that the attorney-general notified the Court of Appeal on April 18 that it did not intend to pursue the case.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the cabinet received the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s consent to present recommendations that would strengthen the country’s policy regarding issues surrounding the use of the word “Allah” to the Conference of Rulers.
He added that the attorney-general’s decision to withdraw the appeal does not interfere with a Federal Court ruling in 2014 which maintained a ban against Herald – a Catholic weekly paper – from using the term “Allah” in its publications.
On August 20, 2008, Sarawakian Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill commenced a judicial review application for the return of eight CDs seized from her on May 11, 2008, upon her arrival at the low-cost carrier terminal in Sepang.
In the application, Jill Ireland had sought, among others, a declaration that it is her constitutional right to have access to Christian publications in the exercise of her rights to practise her religion and to education, as provided under Article 11 of the federal constitution.
On March 10, 2021, the high court ruled that Ireland was allowed to use the term “Allah” for religious education in the Malay and Melanau languages in Sarawak.
The high court also ruled that a Home Ministry directive issued on December 5, 1986, prohibiting the use of the words “Allah”, “baitullah”, “solat”, and “Kaabah” by non-Muslims was illegal and unconstitutional. – The Vibes, May 18, 2023
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