Published: 28
June 2014

The Archbishop of Kuching John Ha
said Putrajaya has the power to lift the 'Allah' ban on Herald after a recent
judgment by the Federal Court which states otherwise. - June 28, 2014.
The fact that
three out of a seven-man Federal Court bench gave dissenting judgments on the
recent "Allah" case is an indication there are cogent grounds for the
decision to be reviewed by another panel of the apex court, said a Christian
leader from Sarawak.
Archbishop
John Ha of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching also said given
Putrajaya's immediate statement to assure Christians that the ban was limited
to the Catholic weekly, Herald, and that the 10-point solution still stood,
shows that the Federal government had the power to lift the ban on the use of
the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia section of Herald.
Expressing
his disappointment and concern over the Federal Court's decision not to grant
leave to the Catholic church in the Herald case, Ha said he took consolation
that the decision was not unanimous.

He pointed
out that there was also a lot of dissatisfaction over the Court of Appeal
judgment that overturned the earlier High Court judgment which effectively
lifted the ban by the Home Minister on Herald from using the word Allah.
Ha added that
the dissatisfaction arose from what was perceived as "flaws" in the
reasons given by the Court of Appeal.
Ha said,
granting leave for the case to be heard by the Federal Court would have
provided a golden opportunity for issues of constitutional rights and
protection for freedom of religion to be articulated by the highest court in
the country.
He said that
Catholic lawyers had pointed out that the leave would have provided the
opportunity to interpret Article 11 (1) and (3) of the Federal Constitution
with respect to the rights of non-Muslim communities in Malaysia to practise
their religion.
"In my
personal view, bearing in mind the degree of public importance of legal issues
raised, granting leave to enable such critical issues to be expounded fully
would have been an opportune occasion to contribute to a greater public
confidence, or if not, at least to reduce the loss of it, in our judicial
system.
"It is
lamentable that the opportunity has been lost," the Archbishop wrote on
the archdiocese website.
He said the
10-point solution is the way forward for the country and for it to work, the
ban on the use of the word Allah in Herald, must be lifted.
Ha added that
the legal implication of the Court of Appeal decision was that the ban on the
use of Allah was nationwide, adding that the Federal Court, in denying the
leave application, meant that the Court of Appeal judgment was intact.
Ha said that
this created a confusing situation – on one hand the nationwide ban was still
effective – on the other, the assurance by Putrajaya that it was only confined
to Herald.
"The ban
is a ministerial order or executive decision and the Federal government has the
competence to rescind it.
"I pray
and appeal to the Federal government to do that so that the 10-point solution
can be implemented without hindrance and our nation can move on," he
wrote.
Ha also
commented on the "bold seizure" of 321 Bahasa Malaysia and
Iban-language Bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia by the Selangor Islamic
Religious Department (Jais) and the refusal by the Selangor Islamic Religious
Council (Mais) to return them.
He said that
the Federal Court decision may encourage and embolden "high-handed"
and "disrespectful" actions by a Muslim body on a non-Muslim
organisation.
"My fear
is that the refusal of leave may spiral into a wider sphere than just the
Herald and may spill over to the ban of the use of the term 'Allah' by
non-Muslims at large, despite the government’s assurance.
"Would
the government and its machinery be able, or daring enough to contain this
likely spiral, should it happen?” he questioned.
Ha also wrote
that Malaysia was intended to be a democratic nation and a secular state but
over time, there has been a deviation from the original intention of the
founding fathers.
He added that
while Islam was given special position, other Malaysians could practise their
faith in peace and harmony as guaranteed in the Federal Constitution.
Ha, however,
said this constitutional safeguard is being politicised and the courts appeared
to be reluctant to enforce them, especially in situations where public pressure
is exerted by certain groups that do not respect the safeguards for minorities.
"Any ban
on the use of the word Allah by Christians in any manner is an infringement on
the practice of Christianity.
"I
cannot help wonder whether eventually the Constitution will be broken to give
way to some fundamentalist quarters who seek to enforce an Islamic way of life
for the whole nation," Ha wrote.
The
Archbishop urged Christians not to "panic" in the current situation,
adding that for God, there is "never a cul-de-sac".
"He will
open a path for us and for the whole nation to move on. For sure, we need to
continue to do our part to get the issue resolved and pray for God to open a
path for us," he said. – June 28, 2014.
~ The Malaysian Insider
No comments:
Post a Comment