Police urge public order on the use of the word 'Allah' announcement

Police are urging the public not cause disturbances over the Court of Appeal's decision on the use of the word ‘Allah’ at the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya tomorrow.

Putrajaya district police chief ACP Abdul Razak Abdul Majid said the police were certainly aware of the development and has set police officers to control the crowd at the Palace of Justice.

“We are aware of this matter and a lot people are expected to throng the court tomorrow to hear the verdict. We are prepared to face the situation with officers placed at each location near the court,” he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

However, he could not say how many officers were deployed to maintain security and public order at the court tomorrow, but insisted officers have been prepared to face all possibilities.

"The police will be there (court ) before the session starts at 8.30 am and we hope nothing unwanted or unruly happens after the verdict is announced,” he said.

On September 10 , a panel of three judges from the Court of Appeal , comprising of Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali, Court of Appeal judges Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh , has adjourned to October 14 the appeal after hearing submissions from the Home Ministry and government on the decision to allow the Herald to use the word ' Allah ' .

The High Court had declared the decision by the Home Ministry prohibiting The Herald from using the word as illegal, null and void on Dec 31, 2009.

It also opined that the word ‘Allah’ is not exclusive to Muslims and the word ‘Allah’ used by Christians is protected under the Federal Constitution as long as it is not used to preach to Muslims.

On February 16, 2010 , the church filed a judicial review application , naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents .

They demanded the declaration of the ministry's decision prohibiting the use of the word ' Allah ' in the Herald was not valid.

The weekly publication published in four languages, has been using the word ' Allah ' to refer to " God " in the Malay language edition , dedicated to the people in Sabah and Sarawak .