KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — After a narrow 4-3 decision this year, the Federal Court agreed today to review the Catholic Church’s bid to reverse a government ban against publishing the word “Allah” in its weekly paper.
The top court fixed a new hearing for leave for January 21 next year after the matter was raised to the Federal Court registrar for case management this morning, news portal Malaysiakini
The titular archbishop of the Catholic Church had filed for a review of its case on September 19, after a seven-judge panel in the Federal Court refused to grant it permission to appeal against a previous Court of Appeal decision reversing a landmark 2009 High Court ruling that it could use the Arabic word for God in the Bahasa Malaysia section of the Herald.
In its September application for a review, the Catholic Church argued that its case was an important constitutional issue, especially on the rights of minorities in Malaysia but claimed the Federal Court had failed to answer key constitutional questions in its June 23 majority; it added that the top court had instead decided on legal issues that had not been raised by any of the parties involved in the case.
One dissenting judge on the Federal Court panel, the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum had noted that the home minister’s decision in 2007 disallowing the Catholic paper from using the word “Allah” may have been flawed.
“The minister’s power is not entirely subjective. He must give evidence to support the claim of a threat to public order,” he said on June 23.
Another dissenting judge, Tan Sri Jeffrey Tan Kok Wah, said the Federal Court would have been the right avenue to answer the important questions raised by the case.
“The applicants raised constitutional questions that should be answered by the Federal Court. The questions are too grave to be answered by any other,” Kok said.
The legal dispute has been in the courts for the last six years after the Home Ministry banned the publication of the word “Allah” in the Herald’s Bahasa Malaysia section in 2007.
The Catholic Church had previously argued that Christians in Sabah and Sarawak had been using the word for centuries.
Last year, the Court of Appeal had ruled that “Allah” was not integral to the Christian faith and could confuse Muslims as well as threaten national security and public order.
The bid to appeal the appellate court’s October ruling was opposed by nine respondents, namely the Home Ministry, the government, the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association and the Islamic councils of six states.
Muslims make up roughly 60 per cent of Malaysia’s population while Christians number just under 10 per cent, according to the latest census figures in 2010.
