KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said today said she and other Umno ministers will seek a Cabinet discussion on the government’s withdrawal of the appeal against the High Court ruling quashing a ban on Christian publications using “Allah”, the Arabic word for God.
Azalina, who is the Umno information chief, said more “in-depth research” must be conducted in a manner fair to all parties, and the matter must be handled with care since it involved religious sensitivities.
“A comprehensive solution needs to be discussed and achieved, including a strong legal approach.
“Umno will continue to champion to uphold and defend Islam as the official religion of the Federation while at the same time respecting the principle of freedom of religion as enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” Azalina, who is the law and institutional reform minister, said in a statement.
The appeal had initially been scheduled for case management on May 19 but will no longer be brought up in court as the government has dropped the entire appeal, with a notice of discontinuance filed on April 18.
The move put an end to the 15-year-long legal saga that began when the government seized a Sarawak Bumiputera’s eight educational compact discs (CDs) that 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 native Melanau tribe, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, by granting three of the court orders she had sought.
These included 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.
