Allah ruling: It was the Cabinet which decided to settle out of court
SEREMBAN - The Cabinet had decided to resolve the issue on the use of the word ' Allah' in Sarawak outside of court, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said.
He added claims by Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that this was at the request of DAP was untrue.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook said it was unfair of Muhyiddin to link DAP with the issue.
"Who is he (Muhyiddin) referring to? I was also in the Cabinet then and never raised the issue.
"In fact, the decision to resolve the issue outside of court was actually a Cabinet decision and maybe he was absent during the Cabinet Meeting when the decision was made," he said when met after the Launch Ceremony of Jalan Temiang renamed to Jalan Dr Chen Man Hin, here, today.
However, he said the Home Ministry did not agree to the decision and wanted to bring the matter to the High Court which decided Christians in Sarawak are allowed to use the word in their religious publications for educational purposes.
Therefore, he said Muhyiddin should not place the burden on DAP alone and that his action clearly is a political agenda.
"PN has no other points besides playing with racial and religious sentiments.
"As stated by the Prime Minister religious issues need to be handled sensitively and well," he said.
The Seremban Member of Parliament said the Cabinet as the highest decision maker in the country will always defend the position of Islam and the Federal Constitution.
He added that the issue needs to be dealt with properly and harmoniously in Malaysia which consist of a multi-ethnic society.
"So we hope issues similar to this can be managed properly and nicely without touching on religious and racial sensitivities of any party," he said.
He said this in a response to a statement by Muhyiddin which revealed that a minister from DAP had once requested that the case of the word Allah involving Jill Ireland to be settled outside of court.
Muhyiddin said the case happened while he was Home Minister in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020.
On Sunday, the media reported that the Malaysian government and the Home Ministry withdrew their appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision which ruled that Christians can use the word 'Allah' and three other Arabic words - 'Baitullah', 'Kaabah' and 'solat' in the publication of religious materials for educational purposes.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court made the decision on March 10, 2021 after allowing a judicial review application filed by a Sarawakian Christian woman named Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill who requested a declaration of her constitutional rights to use the word Allah.
The notice of withdrawal from the judicial review appeal was made by the Attorney-General Chambers' (AG) at the Court of Appeal Registrar's Office in Putrajaya on April 18.
Among other things, the notice stated that the Home Ministry and the Malaysian government do not intend to proceed with the appeal filed on March 12, 2021, and to dismiss the entire appeal without any order as to costs.
