Putrajaya this morning lifted the stop-order issued on Thursday that prevented the distribution of about 2,000 copies of the Catholic weekly, Herald, in Sabah but it was too late to send them in time for Sunday services at churches.
According to Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew (pic), the Home Ministry had informed the forwarding company this morning that Putrajaya had cleared the weekly for distribution.
However, today being a non-working day, the forwarding agent was unable to get the copies out to the churches.
"It will be distributed from tomorrow, but then Catholics go to church today," Andrew said.
He added that the Home Ministry should explain its action. "We need to know why they stopped it in the first place."
After the Catholic weekly's right to use the word Allah was overturned by the Court of Appeal on October 14, Putrajaya assured East Malaysians that they could continue using the word in their worship and publications.
It was seen as an effort by the Barisan Nasional government to ensure it keeps its key vote bank in both Sabah and Sarawak where there are many Christians who worship in Bahasa Malaysia.
The Catholic Church prints 14,000 copies of the Herald every week for the about one million Catholics in the country and Herald editor Andrew said Allah was used in inverted commas in the latest edition when referring to the Court of Appeal ruling on October 14.
Putrajaya’s move on Thursday further fuelled the controversy surrounding the Allah issue.
“Why can't the Herald be read in Sabah when the Prime Minister has announced the ban on the use of the word Allah only applies to the Herald in the peninsula?" Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) chief Datuk Dr Jeffery Kitingan had asked yesterday.
“How come they are applying it (the ban) to Sabah as well? Why is the government inconsistent in its actions? They say one thing and do another,” Kitingan told The Malaysian Insider.
Sarawak Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing said that Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi must explain the new restriction, especially after Putrajaya had said the Court of Appeal ruling would not apply in Sabah and Sarawak.
“He has a bit of an explanation to do,” Masing told The Malaysian Insider yesterday, adding he was surprised at the latest development.
“We were given to understand that the word Allah can be used in our churches and religious publications and (such publications) can be distributed in Sabah and Sarawak.
“This is the understanding. However, if indeed it’s true the Herald, to be distributed only in Sabah, has been confiscated by the authority, then the government has a lot of explanation to do."
He also said the implications were far-reaching, pointing out it meant that Putrajaya was not fulfilling its promises.
“I am now asking, as I have from the beginning, is the court ruling inclusive of Sabah and Sarawak? Is it or is it not?" Masing asked, saying the latest restriction meant the ruling extended to both Borneo states.
He said the government could not hope to rule the country properly if it could not be true to its word. “The government must explain so the public would not be confused," he added.
Equally confused by the Home Ministry's latest action was Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, the former minister of plantation industries and commodities.
“I cannot understand why the copies of the Herald have been intercepted at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport as the Herald is a licensed publication.
“As far as I know, its licence to publish has not been revoked.
“It is therefore like any other publication or newspaper that reports news and prints terms or names, in this case the word Allah, so that its readers will understand the story.”
Like everyone, Dompok also questioned the prime minister's assurance on using the word Allah in prayers and publications in Sabah and Sarawak.
Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian (pic) said Putrajaya's assurances had come to naught.
“It's all double talk. It also shows how zealous they are in implementing the court decision.
“Why confiscate the Herald now? If the Herald had been distributed in Sabah with no problems before, why confiscate them now?” he asked.
“It’s very unfortunate this is happening,” Bian said.
The Herald is only distributed in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia but not in Sarawak, according to the Catholic diocese in Kuching.
The church has its own weekly there called Catholic Today, it said.
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