KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — The absence of any clear direction from political leaders to commit to Putrajaya’s 10-point deal on the use of “Allah” have shored up support for provocative actions against Malaysia’s Christian community, the country’s umbrella group for churches said today.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) also said that in face of the federal government’s overwhelming silence, its member churches can only cast its chances with the courts to end the conflict that have seen Islamic enforcers police the faith of another religion.

“The 10-point solution announced by the Government in April 2011 should have resolved the usage of Bahasa Malaysia and the term ‘Allah’ in the Al-Kitab, the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Regrettably, the Government that devised the 10-point solution is now silent about it,” the group representing over 90 per cent of Catholic, Protestant and evangelical churches here said in a statement.

It added: “As such, in the absence of any clear direction from the political leadership of our country, what we are witnessing is the mad scramble by any and every group to grab media attention for themselves. It is a sorry reflection of the declining state of affairs.”

In its statement, the CFM highlighted four incidents against the local Christian community have broken out since the start of 2014.

It pointed to a massive offensive against Catholic priest Rev Father Lawrence Andrew, which it noted was singled out by the police on a sedition investigation, merely for saying churches in Selangor will continue to use the word Arabic word to call God.

It also noted an advertisement in The Star daily on January 11 by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) to justify the state’s Islamic religious enforcers’ raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia and seizure of over 300 bibles in the Malay and Iban languages a week earlier.

The third and fourth harassment incidents saw demonstrations outside two churches in Selangor, it said.

CFM noted the first demonstration was near the Shekinah Glory AG Church in Klang on January 4, while the second was outside the Metro Tabernacle Church in Gombak on January 12.

“We regret that these groups have felt it necessary to undertake these actions.

“We look to the courts of this land to protect, preserve and defend these cherished principles of our Federal Constitution,” CFM said.

It reiterated its belief in the constitutional guarantees for religious freedom, and added a reminder that 64 per cent of Malaysian Christians use the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, in their daily worship.

A five-year-old court dispute over whether the Arabic word for God, “Allah” is exclusive to Muslims as over 60 per cent of the religion’s followers here believe has drawn deep lines in Malaysia, with the country’s dominant Malay-Muslims on one side and its sizeable Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus and Taoists on the other side.

Religious tensions in the country flared up again shortly after the October Court of Appeal verdict, which also saw the Selangor Sultan issue a royal decree last November prohibiting non-Muslims from referring to God as “Allah” and citing a 1988 state law that bans such usage.

Last October, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling that had favoured the Catholic Church in its suit against the Home Ministry after the Herald was banned from publishing the word “Allah”.

The case is now pending a March 5 hearing for leave of appeal at the Federal Court, after being initially fixed for February 24.

“I was informed on Monday by the Federal Court that some of the judges appointed to sit on the panel would not be available on the 24th,” lawyer for the Catholic Church, S. Selvarajah told The Malay Mail Online when contacted today.