The Home Ministry has no intention of revoking a 1986 ministerial order which banned the use of the word Allah in all non-Muslim publications.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic), in dismissing the suggestion by former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman to revoke the order, said there was no need to divert the issue.
"Whatever has been decided by the Court of Appeal should be respected by all parties. If they are unhappy, they can take their case to the Federal Court to have it heard again," Ahmad Zahid told a press conference at his ministry in Putrajaya this evening.
Abu Talib had told The Malaysian Insider that if the 1986 order was revoked, the use of the word Allah in Christian publications will no longer be an issue.
He said this when commenting on the conflicting statements made by various parties following the Court of Appeal ruling which banned the word from the Bahasa Malaysia section of the Catholic weekly, Herald.
Ahmad Zahid said today that everyone should focus on the decision by the Court of Appeal.
"For us at the Home Ministry, we will abide by the decision of the appellate court. There is no need to divert the issue by raising the matter of the 1986 ministerial order," he said, declining to elaborate further.
The order not only banned the use of the word Allah in non-Muslim publications, but also the words Kaabah, Solat and Baitullah.
Abu Talib said if this order was revoked, by extension the order on the ban of Allah in Herald, would be rendered academic.
Earlier, Ahmad Zahid received a courtesy call from Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.
Both ministers discussed various issues, including human trafficking and transnational crimes.
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