The government has "requested" that Catholic weekly the Heraldstops publishing articles about its court case on the use of the word 'Allah' and the dispute over the use of the word by non-Muslims.
This would include articles on the matter sourced from and published by external parties, such as news portal Malaysiakini, which the weekly publishes on a regular basis.
The Home Ministry in a letter dated Jan 20 requests the weekly to do so in the interest of "public safety" and "harmony".
"Publishing these articles relating to the 'Allah' issue at this time could be detrimental to (public) safety and order, thus affecting inter-racial and religious harmony and unity in the country.
"As such, taking the public and safety factor as well as the Court of Appeal decision into consideration, the ministry is requesting that articles on the 'Allah' issue are not published in Herald the Catholic Weekly," the letter says.
The editor of the Herald, Father Lawrence Andrew, confirmed receiving the letter and said the weekly would consult its lawyers on the matter.
Father Lawrence (left) said the weekly includes articles concerning the Church published by other news outlets to keep the Christian community in the loop, and that the sources of these articles are clearly identified.
He added that the Herald does not use the word 'Allah' to refer to God in its own articles, to comply with its publication permit condition and in respect of the court process.
“We have not used the word 'Allah' to refer to God in our own articles for seven years,” Father Lawrence said when contacted.
It is not clear whether the Home Ministry's “request” is binding, but its Publications and Quranic Text Division head Hashimah Nik Jaafar told the Malaysian Insider that that ministry was “just advising”.
This would include articles on the matter sourced from and published by external parties, such as news portal Malaysiakini, which the weekly publishes on a regular basis.The Home Ministry in a letter dated Jan 20 requests the weekly to do so in the interest of "public safety" and "harmony".
"Publishing these articles relating to the 'Allah' issue at this time could be detrimental to (public) safety and order, thus affecting inter-racial and religious harmony and unity in the country.
"As such, taking the public and safety factor as well as the Court of Appeal decision into consideration, the ministry is requesting that articles on the 'Allah' issue are not published in Herald the Catholic Weekly," the letter says.
The editor of the Herald, Father Lawrence Andrew, confirmed receiving the letter and said the weekly would consult its lawyers on the matter.
Father Lawrence (left) said the weekly includes articles concerning the Church published by other news outlets to keep the Christian community in the loop, and that the sources of these articles are clearly identified.He added that the Herald does not use the word 'Allah' to refer to God in its own articles, to comply with its publication permit condition and in respect of the court process.
“We have not used the word 'Allah' to refer to God in our own articles for seven years,” Father Lawrence said when contacted.
It is not clear whether the Home Ministry's “request” is binding, but its Publications and Quranic Text Division head Hashimah Nik Jaafar told the Malaysian Insider that that ministry was “just advising”.
Hashimah is reported as saying that since the matter was still in court, it would be better not to use the word at all to avoid contempt of court.
The Court of Appeal on Oct 14 last year overturned a 2009 High Court decision that allowed the Herald to use the word 'Allah' in its publication.
The weekly is appealing the matter in the Federal Court and the hearing is set for next month.
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