Bumiputera Christians will continue to use the word 'Allah'

Bumiputera and Orang Asli Christians in Sabah and Sarawak will continue to use the word ‘Allah’ in its worship, liturgy, prayers and educational materials of the church.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) chairman Reverend Dr Eu Hong Send said this is because the federation expects Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Cabinet to continue to honour the 10-point solution with respect to the Bahasa Malaysia Bible, Alkitab.

The 10-point solution signed by Najib on April 11, 2011, allowed the importation and publication of Bibles in all languages, including Bahasa Malaysia with the word ‘Allah’ without restriction and by extension.

Eu said by stating that the name ‘Allah’ is not an integral part of the faith and practise of Christianity, the court has totally ignored the position of the East Malaysian Bumiputra and Orang Asli Christians who constitute 60% of the churches in Malaysia and speak in Bahasa Malaysia.

“The Christian community in Malaysia is gravely dismayed and very disappointed by the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the power of the Home Minister to ban the word Allah in The Herald.

“This decision is yet another erosion and infringement of the constitutional protection of the freedom of religious communities to profess and practise their faith and to manage their own affairs,” he said in a statement.

Dr Eu also said that the Bahasa Malaysia speaking churches have been using the word ‘Allah’ both before and after the independence of Malaya and the formation of Malaysia.

“The use of the word Allah by the Malaysian churches had not been an issue all these years.

“However, the various authorities in this country appear to be selective in their actions or inactions and this has only encouraged further misunderstandings.

“But we welcomed the fact that the decision does not appear to cover the use of the word ‘Allah; in Alkitab,” he said.

The Court of Appeal today disallowed The Herald from using the term "Allah" in its Malay edition to refer to the Christian 'God'.

The decision was made by a three-man panel comprising Justice Mohamed Apandi Ali, Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh and Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim following the Home Ministry's and government's appeal against the High Court's earlier decision that use of "Allah" was not exclusive to Muslims.

Appandi had said, the court found that the usage of the term "Allah" was not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity.

The dispute on the use of "Allah" by non-Muslims began when the Home Ministry prohibited the publication to use the term as a condition for permit renewal issuance in 2007.

In February 2008, the Church filed for a judicial review of the ministry’s decision and, on Dec 31, 2009, the High Court declared the decision by the ministry was illegal, null and void.

The court also ruled the term "Allah" was not exclusive to Muslims and use by the Christians was protected under the Federal Constitution, as long as it was not used to preach to Muslims.

The Home Ministry and Government then appealed against the decision.