IGP warns against street protest over 'Allah' court ruling

 

Stern action will be taken against those who seek to stage a protest against a High Court ruling on the "Allah" issue, warned Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador.

He stressed that the court's decision must be respected.

“If we do not respect the court’s decision, our country will be destroyed. We must remember that the court is free to come to a decision in line with the (Federal) Constitution," he was quoted as saying by FMT.

“We cannot expect the court to rule according to our whims and fancies as it would be unfair. If you are not satisfied with the decision, file an appeal or raise the matter in Parliament.

“Don’t take to the streets,” he added.

He was also cited as saying that the Sedition Act may be used against protesters.

On Wednesday, judge Nor Bee Ariffin ruled that the government erred in issuing the 1986 ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.

She said the directive has no statutory backing and is therefore illegal and irrational.

Yesterday, Umno supreme council member Razlan Rafii said that Muslims were ready to take to the streets if the government does not appeal the High Court ruling.

"Muslims are ready to take to the streets to protect this sacred word," he said.

The ruling was made in a bid by Jill Ireland, a Melanau Christian who was seeking a declaration that her constitutional right to practise her religion was violated by the imposition of a restriction or ban on the import of educational materials.

In her ruling, the judge said there was no evidence the use of the word “Allah” by the indigenous Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christian communities of Sabah and Sarawak for over 400 years has ever threatened public order.

This decision, though, is distinguishable and does not contradict a previous precedent set by the Federal Court in 2015, when it dismissed the "Allah" appeal by the Roman Catholic Church.

Ireland's lawyer said this was because the earlier case involved a challenge to a state enactment, while the present one does not involve such a challenge. - Mkini