Perikatan Nasional chief Muhyiddin Yassin claimed that a DAP minister had once asked for the Home Ministry to settle the Jill Ireland case out of court.
He said this happened when he was home minister during Pakatan Harapan's first run in office.
"I disagreed with the request because what was being asked with this settlement is for the Home Ministry to retract its order to seize Christian CD brochures which contained the word Allah," he said in a statement today.
Muhyiddin (above) added that the Home Ministry's position then was the matter should be decided by the courts, as the minister believed the spread of Christian pamphlets containing the word "Allah" would cause distress among Muslims and may threaten public order.
Malaysiakini has contacted DAP ministers from the first Harapan government for comment.
The Ireland case has two elements to it.
The case originated in 2008 when Ireland - a Christian Melanau - had eight Christian educational CDs from Indonesia seized from her upon arrival in Sepang.
She then filed a suit to get the CDs back, as well as a declaration that she had a right to use the word "Allah" as well as her own materials containing that word.
‘Illegal and irrational’
The High Court in 2014 ordered the CDs returned but did not rule on the declaration sought by Ireland.
The Court of Appeal then upheld the decision in 2015 and ordered the matter of Ireland's declaration to be heard again at the High Court.
Subsequent to this, the seized CDs were returned to Ireland in Sept 2015 - almost three years before Muhyiddin's tenure as home minister.
He was, however, the deputy prime minister at the time.
The rehearing of Ireland's declaration on her right to use the word "Allah" ended in November 2017, but a decision was deferred until 2021 - with the court ultimately ruling in the Christian Melanau's favour.
In her judgment on the case, judge Nor Bee Ariffin said the Home Ministry's directive dated Dec 5, 1986, banning the use of "Allah", "Kaabah", "Baitullah", and "Solat" by non-Muslims, has no statutory backing and is therefore illegal and irrational, and went beyond what the cabinet had in mind.
The Muhyiddin-led government at the time then appealed the decision.
The appeal was then withdrawn by the current government, leading to the current uproar.
Harmonious relations
Muhyiddin said the coalition government should not have withdrawn the appeal and allowed the court process to continue.
Furthermore, he said if the court still does not side with the government on the matter, then laws should be amended.
"It would be wise for the government to amend relevant laws to ensure the purpose of those laws are enforced, that is, ensuring harmonious relations between a multi-religious society and safeguarding public order," he said.
He added that the views of the Malay rulers - who are the heads of Islam in their respective states, as well as the Yang diPertuan Agong as the head of Islam in the Federal Territories - should be upheld by the government, he said.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the decision to withdraw the appeal was due to the contradiction highlighted by the court ruling.
He also said that the government was coming up with new guidelines on the use of the word "Allah" in line with the interest of multi-racial and multi-religious communities in the country. - Mkini
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