The statement by Selangor Royal Council secretary Hanafisah Jais yesterday that the use of the word ‘Allah’ in the Bible and in the Bahasa Malaysia edition of the Catholic Herald be stopped immediately needs urgent clarification as it raises concern over the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.
Hanafisah is reported to have said the statement was released after the Selangor Sultan consulted the Selangor Royal Council on Monday.
The decision is made based on Section 9 of the Non Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation against Muslims) Enactment 1988, which classifies use of certain words and expressions of Islamic origin without the state's authority as a religious offence in the state. ‘Allah’ is one of these words.
The statement also referred to a decision by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council which was gazetted on February 2010, barring non-Muslims from using the word Allah to refer to God.
Sultan has say over Islam and over Muslims, not non-Muslims
The first legal issue is that usage of the Alkitab, or the Malay language Bible and the word ‘Allah’ are matters under the constitution and federal laws. Islam is a state matter under the respective sultans.
Pronouncements and gazette orders made by the respective state Islamic Religious Councils apply only to Muslims in these states and not on federal laws.
The question of whether the Herald can use the word ‘Allah’ is determined by Federal laws, specifically, the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
It is not under the purview of any state Islamic Religious Councils or state laws or fatwas. This much is clear and implicit from the High Court of Kuala Lumpur judgment of 31 Dec 2009 as well as the Court of Appeal judgment of 14 Oct 2013.
Alkitab under purview of federal laws
The question of usage of the Alkitab Bible is also to be determined under Federal laws, in particular, the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) which has been replaced by the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.
The Alkitab was banned by the Mahathir administration in 1981 by a gazette order issued under the ISA on 2 Dec 1981 but was subsequently amended to a restricted ban by another ISA gazette order on 22 Mar 1982.
Under the Najib administration, the Alkitab is allowed to be freely used in Sabah and Sarawak while in the peninsula, it can be used if the words ‘Christian publication’ and the symbol of the cross is embossed on its cover. This was a Federal Cabinet decision made in 2011 known as the ‘10-Point Solution.’
The Court of Appeal judgment did not set aside the ‘10-Point Solution’ neither did it make any order on the Alkitab.
The rights given by the Federal Constitution
Article 3 (1) of the Federal Constitution clearly states: “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.”
Article 4 (1) states: “This Constitution is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after Merdeka Day which is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”
Article 11 (1) spells out the constitutional guarantee that “Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it, and among other things, the right manage its own religious affairs.
This right includes the right of Christians to decide for themselves questions about Bible translations including rendering the English word ‘God’ as ‘Allah’.
No state or federal authority has any power or right over the exclusive ecclesiastical authority that lies solely to the Church of Malaysia guaranteed by the Federal Constitution and mandated by Holy Scripture.
Clause (4) refers to State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, Federal law to control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.
In view of the constitutional provisions and guarantees, the statement issued by Selangor Royal Council secretary, Hanafisah Jais, needs urgent clarification to ensure that constitutional provisions are sacrosanct precisely in the manner envisaged by the framers of our Federal Constitution.
The writer is author of the book 'Allah - More Than Just a Word (2010).
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