KOTA KINABALU: The decision of the Court of Appeal on the use of the word Allah by the Catholic newspaper Herald is widely expected by the Christian community after the panel of judges who sat to hear the case was constituted.
Angkatan Perubahan Sabah president Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred M Bumburing in a statement yesterday said the decision had cast a nullification of the provision in the constitution which guaranteed freedom of religion in Malaysia.
“The decision has set Malaysia apart from the rest of the world, even among the Muslim countries. The main basis of the decision of the court is on fear of discord and disharmony among the people and a fear of offending the Muslims being the majority population. Thus it can be construed that the decision is not purely on point of law,” he said.
Bumburing, who is also the assemblyman for Tamparuli, said the term Allah had been used in Indonesia, a vastly Muslim majority country, and it had never been a point of contention among the Muslim people in that country.
“The term has also been used in the Arab world by the Christians there and we have never heard of any objection from the Muslims there,” he said.
“In spite of the court decision it is at least consoling to note that the president of PAS Datuk Seri Awang Hadi and Datuk Seri Nik Aziz had reaffirmed their religious stand that non-Muslims can use the term Allah as long as it is not abused. To the Christians, the calling of the name of the Almighty must be done in utmost reverence. In fact, the Ten Commandments say that it is a mortal sin to mention the name of God in vain.”
“Personally I have no problem in using the term Yahweh to call the Almighty as this was the term used by the people of the Old Testament and the New Testament is the fulfillment of the old one.
“However the issue being contested is not just a theological matter but rather a legal-political one. It is a question of the right of the citizen of this country to freely practise their religion according to the constitution and, in the case of Sabah, Christians have been provided certain safeguards as contained in the 20 Points which forms part of Malaysia Agreement 1963. In retrospect if the term Allah is prohibited from being used by Christians, then the leaders and the people of Sabah then will have to think twice and review their position in joining to form Malaysia.
“In summing up, (1) the decision of the court seems to be subservient to the decision of an executive that is the minister. (2) There is no proof that the use of the word Allah in The Herald is said to have caused disharmony among the multiracial people of Malaysia, however (3) it was the burning of churches which had caused damage and disharmony, and (4), since it had been used in Sabah since time immemorial the decision of the court surely has an impact on the harmonious relationship among the Sabah people,” Bumburing said