Friday, December 28, 2007
Not for Muslims
Khairil Zhafri | Dec 27, 07 7:26pm
A Sabah church’s lawsuit against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the government for banning the importation of Christian children books from Indonesia has been postponed to Jan 15 next year.
The suit which was filed on Dec 10 was scheduled for hearing today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Jalan Duta.
Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo Church’s lawyer Lim Heng Seng had submitted a certificate of urgency to the court to obtain the hearing today.
However, senior federal counsel Azizah Nawawi, who is representing the government, requested for an adjournment as several relevant parties are in the midst of discussion to resolve the issue.
Lim did not object to Azizah's application.
Return the books
The suit, filed on behalf of the SIB Church by its president, Pastor Jerry Dusing, is against the government and the prime minister, who is also internal security minister, after six titles for their children’s Sunday school were confiscated by the authorities.
The church is seeking to nullify the ban to import four Bahasa Indonesia titles and the withholding of two other titles under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
The church is also requesting the courts to compel the minister to return the consignment of materials that were ‘unlawfully detained’ by Custom officers at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal on Aug 15.
The ministry has replied in writing to the church in September explaining that the books were prohibited because the Bahasa Indonesia publications contained certain words that were exclusive to Islam.
The words in contention are ‘Allah’ (God), ‘Baitullah’ (House of God), ‘Solat’ (prayer) and ‘Kaabah’ (The Sacred House).
The church had emphasised that the seized publications were for educational purposes within the church and not for sale or distribution.
‘Not for Muslims’
The church is also seeking the court to rule on the constitutional right and legitimate expectation to the use of the term 'Allah' as a translation for God in Christian publications as well the right to import such publications.
The suit came in the wake of the controversy involving the Catholic church’s weekly publication Herald after the Internal Security Ministry directed the bulletin to stop using the term “Allah” when referring to God or face a ban.
Last year, about 1,000 copies of bibles in Bahasa Indonesia were seized in Port Klang and had remained in Customs’ possession.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz had earlier told Parliament that the government prohibits the distribution of bibles in Bahasa Malaysia.
The prime minister however stated that Bahasa Malaysia bibles are not banned but must be labelled with the words 'Not for Muslims’.
A Sabah church’s lawsuit against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the government for banning the importation of Christian children books from Indonesia has been postponed to Jan 15 next year.
The suit which was filed on Dec 10 was scheduled for hearing today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Jalan Duta.
Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo Church’s lawyer Lim Heng Seng had submitted a certificate of urgency to the court to obtain the hearing today.
However, senior federal counsel Azizah Nawawi, who is representing the government, requested for an adjournment as several relevant parties are in the midst of discussion to resolve the issue.
Lim did not object to Azizah's application.
Return the books
The suit, filed on behalf of the SIB Church by its president, Pastor Jerry Dusing, is against the government and the prime minister, who is also internal security minister, after six titles for their children’s Sunday school were confiscated by the authorities.
The church is seeking to nullify the ban to import four Bahasa Indonesia titles and the withholding of two other titles under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
The church is also requesting the courts to compel the minister to return the consignment of materials that were ‘unlawfully detained’ by Custom officers at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal on Aug 15.
The ministry has replied in writing to the church in September explaining that the books were prohibited because the Bahasa Indonesia publications contained certain words that were exclusive to Islam.
The words in contention are ‘Allah’ (God), ‘Baitullah’ (House of God), ‘Solat’ (prayer) and ‘Kaabah’ (The Sacred House).
The church had emphasised that the seized publications were for educational purposes within the church and not for sale or distribution.
‘Not for Muslims’
The church is also seeking the court to rule on the constitutional right and legitimate expectation to the use of the term 'Allah' as a translation for God in Christian publications as well the right to import such publications.
The suit came in the wake of the controversy involving the Catholic church’s weekly publication Herald after the Internal Security Ministry directed the bulletin to stop using the term “Allah” when referring to God or face a ban.
Last year, about 1,000 copies of bibles in Bahasa Indonesia were seized in Port Klang and had remained in Customs’ possession.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz had earlier told Parliament that the government prohibits the distribution of bibles in Bahasa Malaysia.
The prime minister however stated that Bahasa Malaysia bibles are not banned but must be labelled with the words 'Not for Muslims’.
