SERDANG, May 15 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today confirmed that his ministry had decided to withdraw the appeal against the High Court’s ruling that quashed a government ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ in all Christian publications in Malaysia.
The appeal was reportedly withdrawn through a notice of discontinuance filed on April 18.
“It is a position taken by KDN, and I had to inform the Cabinet, which I did a few months ago,” he told reporters during his ministry’s Aidilfitri celebration at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here today.
KDN is the Malay abbreviation for “Kementerian Dalam Negari” or Home Ministry
He added that his ministry had sent a note to the Cabinet several months ago.
However, he declined to comment further, adding that a press conference will be held at a later date to address the matter.
The appeal was initially scheduled for case management on May 19 but will no longer be brought up in court as the government has dropped the entire appeal.
This move would put an end to the 15-year-long legal saga which began when the government seized a Sarawak Bumiputera’s eight educational compact discs (CDs) — which contained the word ‘Allah’ and were for her own use.
On March 10, 2021, the High Court ruled in favour of the Sarawakian Christian from the Melanau tribe, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, by granting three of the court orders which she had sought.
This includes the High Court’s declaration that a government directive issued by the Home Ministry’s publication control’s division via a circular dated December 5, 1986 is “unlawful and unconstitutional”.
The 1986 directive by the Home Ministry said the word “Allah” cannot be used in all Christian publications in Malaysia, and this was the government ban which the High Court had found to be illegal.
On March 12, 2021, the Malaysian government and the home minister filed an appeal against the High Court.
