SIB ‘Allah’ case discontinued for ‘national harmony’
Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) last month discontinued its 14-year legal battle to uphold the Sabah-based church’s right to use the word “Allah”.
According to a source close to the matter, SIB filed its notice of discontinuance at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on April 25.
The church’s discontinuance came seven days after the federal government discontinued its appeal to overturn a court verdict allowing Sarawakian Jill Ireland to use the word “Allah” for religious and educational purposes.
“It (SIB’s judicial review) was discontinued in the interest of national harmony,” said the source who declined to be named.
The source also expressed hope that there would be “no more polemic” over the issue, following the discontinuance of SIB’s legal action as well as the government’s appeal.
Malaysiakini is attempting to reach out to the government’s legal representatives on the SIB matter for a response.
SIB and Reverend Jerry Dusing filed the legal action on Dec 10, 2007, following the seizure of three boxes of Bahasa Malaysia language Christian educational books containing the word “Allah” by the Customs Department.
The seizure was carried out at the then Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang in August same year.
The books have since been returned to SIB in 2008.
The church, however, had continued the legal action to seek a declaration that it has the constitutional right to use the word “Allah” in publications and for educational purposes.
It had been clear right from the beginning of the case that the Federal Government seizing Jill Ireland's personal religious educational material was an administrative overreach.
ReplyDeleteBut successive administrations stubbornly pursued the case from political reasons.
Credit to the current administration for doing the right thing.
No doubt the the Constitution gives the government power to restrict the propagation of other religions in the Muslim community .
But using this as unfettered power to interfere with any and all non-Muslim religious practice violates the Constitution.
Thile status of this case does NOT amount to free use of "Allah" among non-Muslim religions.
All it means is Jill Ireland had the right to her personal religious CDs, without the Federal Government seizing it.