KK Court to hear Herald seizure case

According to Sabah lawyer-cum activist Marcel Judge Joseph, the Home Ministry's actions in seizing the Herald was unlawful.

KOTA KINABALU: The High Court here today fixed Dec 2 to hear an application for leave for a judicial review by a lawyer against a directive by the Ministry of Home Affairs to seized 2,000 copies of Herald, a Catholic Church publication, last week.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is the sole respondent in the application filed at the High Court registry yesterday by activist lawyer Marcel Judge Joseph.

He told FMT that he is seeking an order to quash the directive or “arahan” of the respondent to  seize 2,000 copies of the Herald newspaper at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on Thursday (Oct 24).

He is also seeking a declaration that the directive by the Ministry was unconstitutional and in breach Article 11(1)  of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and the 10 Point Agreement of the Federal Cabinet of February 2011.

The seizure was a breach of the assurance by the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak given in Kota Kinabalu on Oct 21, 2013 that the Christians in Sabah and Sarawak are free to refer God as `Allah” in their worship, he said.

In his affidavit in support of his application, Joseph stated that as a Malaysian of Sabah origin and as a Christian he is directly affected by the Ministry’s directive.

He said the seizure the 2,000 copies of the Herald at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport violated his right to freedom of religion guaranteed by the Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution and the Home Ministry which is in charge of domestic affairs such as immigration, civil defence and public matters is directly responsible.

Joseph further stated that on Oct 21, 2013 it was reported by the national news agency Bernama that Prime Minister Najib had assured Christians in the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak that an Appeals Court’s ruling barring the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims did not apply to them.

The Bernama report said Najib reaffirmed a 10-Point Agreement by the cabinet which accepted the printing, importation and distribution of the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia version of the bible and the use of the word “Allah” in its texts in the two states.

Unlawful action
Bernama also quoted Najib as saying that when the Appeals Court made its decision banning the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims in Malaysia, it did not touch on the practices of Christians in Sabah and Sarawak.

Joseph argued that despite the federal cabinet agreement, the respondents contravened and dishonoured the same when the said copies of the Herald were seized at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

The actions of the respondents, he said, are unlawful and contrary to the public statement of the Prime Minister of Malaysia to the Christian people and community of Sabah and Sarawak.

Joseph said he is aware that the copies of the Herald were subsequently released but it was too late and the respondents have still not revoked the order to seize and nor apologised for the seizure. As such the order of seizure remains on record as a valid executive order of “arahan”, he said.