Allah decision leaves minority communities vulnerable, says inter-faith panel

Jagir Singh is concerned over the persecution and injustice that may affect minority communities when it comes to the freedom to practice their religion. - The Malaysian Insider pic, June 23. 2014.The decision of the Federal Court to dismiss the church's leave application to appeal the "Allah" ban in its weekly publication, Herald, has left the minority faith communities vulnerable to injustice, an inter-faith panel said today.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikkhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) said the decision had also disregarded the "clear protection" granted to all Malaysians in the Federal Constitution.

"The application for leave to appeal had raised 28 grounds of legal and constitutional issues and minority rights issues to be decided," said the panel president Jagir Singh in a statement.

"Now, with the Federal Court shutting this avenue of appeal, it may result in grave injustice to minority rights which were hitherto protected by the Constitution."

The Federal Court today dismissed the church's leave application to appeal the ban by the Court of Appeal on the use of the word "Allah" in Herald.

Four of the seven-member bench dismissed the church's application for leave to appeal, saying that the Court of Appeal was right in its decision to ban the word in the Catholic weekly.

Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, who led the seven-man bench, said the President of Court of Appeal Md Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin and Federal court judge Suriyadi Halim Omar agreed with him that leave should not be granted.

Even as criticisms of the Federal Court judgment continues to pour in from Christian and religious organisations, Jagir also expressed his "concern and dismay", adding that the MCCBCHST was saddened by the matter.

"The dissenting judgments of the three judges are heavily persuasive and they have given cogent reasons in support of their decision as to why leave should be granted," he said, calling for fervent prayer for protection of the rights of religious minorities in Malaysia.

Earlier today, Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew also expressed disappointment that the four judges who had rejected their application had not talked about the rights of the minority in the country.

Following that, Christian Federation of Malaysia chairman Reverend Dr Eu Hong Seng said the Christian community will continue to use the word Allah in Bahasa Malaysia Bibles, church services and gatherings as the Federal Court ruling today was only confined to Herald.

Council of Churches Malaysia general-secretary Dr Hermen Shastri, in criticising the decision, said it was a regressive move as far as the guarantee for religious freedom is concerned.

- TMI