PUTRAJAYA, Oct 9 — After five days of meetings with various religious groups, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said they are about to send their recommendations to the Conference of Rulers for the next step in the Allah issue.
He said the ministry and a myriad of religious leaders from all races discussed the issue concerning the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims by outlining complete and comprehensive guidelines for the council's perusal.
“We are trying to form new administrative directives for any future cases such as the one that just happened so the authorities can be guided accordingly.
“We touched on all aspects of this issue from the Federal Constitution to laws governing us and we will send all our findings and recommendations to the Conference of Rulers in due time,” he said when met at Putrajaya.
The issue of the use of the word “Allah” stemmed when the government abandoned its appeal against a lower court ruling on a Sarawakian woman’s right to use “Allah” in her religious learning a few months back.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), representing the home ministry, notified the Court of Appeal on April 18 that it does not wish to pursue the appeal.
The High Court, in a landmark decision in 2021, ruled that Jill Ireland could use the word “Allah” in her religious education.
Based on court records, the appeal was withdrawn through a notice of discontinuance filed on April 18.
