If people are expecting finality over the ‘Allah' issue before the coming general election in the civil courts, they will be extremely disappointed.
This follows the government and Home Ministry's appeal over the Catholic weekly magazine Herald's case which is only coming up for case management at the Court of Appeal on Thursday after three years.
In Dec 31, 2009, Justice Lau Bee Lan (left) in her landmark decision, ruled that the home ministry's blanket ban on the word Allah is illegal.
But the decision was stayed after a successful application by the Home Ministry.
With wide implications and repercussions attached to the appeal, few will be surprised if the matter is heard after the general election.
This follows the government and Home Ministry's appeal over the Catholic weekly magazine Herald's case which is only coming up for case management at the Court of Appeal on Thursday after three years.
In Dec 31, 2009, Justice Lau Bee Lan (left) in her landmark decision, ruled that the home ministry's blanket ban on the word Allah is illegal.But the decision was stayed after a successful application by the Home Ministry.
With wide implications and repercussions attached to the appeal, few will be surprised if the matter is heard after the general election.
Further, besides the matter being heard at the Court of Appeal, the final decision on the matter will be decided by the Federal Court, the highest court in the land.
Sources indicate while the case is due to come up on Thursday, there is genuine concern that the case maybe prolonged further with the Home Ministry and government, which had lost the case at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in 2009, asking for a postponement.
Sources from the legal fraternity indicated the judicial review appeal is likely to be heard after the general election.
The feeling is should the superior courts make any rulings against the Herald and the Catholic Church prior to the general election, it may result in a severe negative reaction particularly from the voters of Sabah and Sarawak.
Sources indicate while the case is due to come up on Thursday, there is genuine concern that the case maybe prolonged further with the Home Ministry and government, which had lost the case at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in 2009, asking for a postponement.
Sources from the legal fraternity indicated the judicial review appeal is likely to be heard after the general election.
The feeling is should the superior courts make any rulings against the Herald and the Catholic Church prior to the general election, it may result in a severe negative reaction particularly from the voters of Sabah and Sarawak.
But then again, to rule in favour of the Herald, could upset Muslims.
Besides the Herald case, there are a handful of other cases which are similar and depended on this landmark case, like the Jill Ireland matter where the decision at the High Court is pending following Herald's decision.
Review slow to be heard
This delay has raised eyebrows as normally in such applications for review, a quick decision is made and the appeal process would normally be hurried up to the Federal Court within months or a year as was with the Perak constitutional crisis cases.
The Herald case was filed by the Catholic Church led by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam and Father Lawrence Andrew (right), filed a judicial review application on Feb 16, 2009, where they named the Home Ministry and the government as respondents.
They were seeking, among others, a declaration that the decision by the respondents on Jan 7, 2009, prohibiting him from using the word ‘Allah' in the Herald-The Catholic Weekly publication is illegal and that the word ‘Allah' is not exclusive to the religion of Islam.
On Dec 31, 2009, Justice Lau ruled that the home ministry's blanket ban on the word Allah is illegal.
In declaring the Home Minister's decision as "illegal, null and void", Lau said the Herald can use the word 'Allah' and that the term is not exclusive to Islam.
"Even though Islam is the federal religion, it does not empower the respondents to prohibit the use of the word," ruled Justice Lau.
The Herald has a publication of 14,000 copies and there are 850,000 Christian Catholics practitioners in 2009.
The Catholic weekly, which is printed in four languages, has been using the word 'Allah' as a translation for 'God' in its Malay-language section, but the government argued 'Allah' should be used only by Muslims.
The term 'Allah' is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak, most of whom speak Bahasa Malaysia.
Review slow to be heard
This delay has raised eyebrows as normally in such applications for review, a quick decision is made and the appeal process would normally be hurried up to the Federal Court within months or a year as was with the Perak constitutional crisis cases.
The Herald case was filed by the Catholic Church led by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam and Father Lawrence Andrew (right), filed a judicial review application on Feb 16, 2009, where they named the Home Ministry and the government as respondents.They were seeking, among others, a declaration that the decision by the respondents on Jan 7, 2009, prohibiting him from using the word ‘Allah' in the Herald-The Catholic Weekly publication is illegal and that the word ‘Allah' is not exclusive to the religion of Islam.
On Dec 31, 2009, Justice Lau ruled that the home ministry's blanket ban on the word Allah is illegal.
In declaring the Home Minister's decision as "illegal, null and void", Lau said the Herald can use the word 'Allah' and that the term is not exclusive to Islam.
"Even though Islam is the federal religion, it does not empower the respondents to prohibit the use of the word," ruled Justice Lau.
The Herald has a publication of 14,000 copies and there are 850,000 Christian Catholics practitioners in 2009.
The Catholic weekly, which is printed in four languages, has been using the word 'Allah' as a translation for 'God' in its Malay-language section, but the government argued 'Allah' should be used only by Muslims.
The term 'Allah' is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak, most of whom speak Bahasa Malaysia.
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