KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar has today sought to assure Muslims in the country to be mindful and remain calm over 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.
In a statement acknowledging the government's move, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said the matter was a "technical” legal issue and all parties should refrain from being swayed by sentiments in the interest of religious harmony.
"This ministry would like to give its guarantee that it will work together with the Home Ministry in preserving and protecting existing policies on the use of 'Allah' and other words sacred in Islam," he said.
Mohd Na'im also said his ministry remained confident that the Home Ministry will step up its monitoring and act strictly against any form of proselytism amongst Muslims.
He also said the ministry would adhere to two royal decrees issued by the Sultans of Johor and Selangor respectively in safeguarding the sanctity of Islam which also includes the usage of the word 'Allah'.
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 their 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. However, the decision has upset Malay and Muslim groups, and forced parties such as Umno in the national unity government to perform damage control.
Earlier today, Umno information chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said sought to affirm her party’s commitment to upholding Islam, saying she and her party colleagues would raise the matter in the Cabinet.
Azalina, the minister for law and institutional reforms, 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.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the High Court ruling was limited to Sarawak alone.
According to national news agency Bernama, Anwar insisted his government’s decision to withdraw its appeal against the ruling would not affect all of Malaysia.
