Anwar should have known better on ‘Allah’ issue, says Hamzah
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should have known better than to withdraw the government’s appeal in the Jill Ireland case regarding the use of the word “Allah” in non-Muslim contexts, said opposition leader Hamzah Zainuddin.
He said Anwar was also wrong to suggest that the 2021 Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling on the issue is only applicable to Sarawak.
“It clearly shows that...
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should have known better than to withdraw the government’s appeal in the Jill Ireland case regarding the use of the word “Allah” in non-Muslim contexts, said opposition leader Hamzah Zainuddin.
He said Anwar was also wrong to suggest that the 2021 Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling on the issue is only applicable to Sarawak.
“It clearly shows that the prime minister is reckless and had not perused the court decision,” the former home minister said in a statement today.
Hamzah (above) pointed out that the seizure of eight CDs in the Ireland case took place at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang and not in Sarawak, and the three reliefs granted by the court were not limited to Sarawak either.
He said Anwar should have been aware of the sensitivities surrounding the issue and the confusion it could cause because he was part of a cabinet committee alongside then justice minister James Peter Ongkili and deputy prime minister Ghafar Baba in 1986 that studied Islamic terms that shouldn’t be used in the Bible.
He also questioned whether the government had consulted Malay rulers as the heads of Islam before withdrawing the appeal, as well as the religious councils of Selangor, the federal territories, and Kedah who were amicus curae (friend of the court) in the case.
The Selangor Islamic Religious Council had previously accused Putrajaya of acting unilaterally.
‘PN respects court processes’
Meanwhile, Hamzah said the previous Perikatan Nasional (PN)-led government was correct in pursuing the appeal because this allows the court process to take place until the apex court delivers its verdict.
It meant that the PN government respected the legal processes and allowed it to take place, whereas the current administration would not, he said.
“Clearly, the decision to withdraw the appeal proves that the government led by Anwar is not sensitive to the ‘Allah’ issue even though it could threaten harmony in Malaysia’s multireligious and multiracial community.
“I hope this explanation would raise awareness of why I and the Home Ministry at the time agreed to appeal the case at the Court of Appeal,” said Hamzah, who was home minister under the PN administration led by Muhyiddin Yassin.
On March 10, 2021, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur allowed a judicial review by Ireland, a Melanau Christian, who sought a declaration that she has the right to use the word “Allah” for religious and educational purposes.
The government had initially appealed against the decision but gave notice on April 18 this year that it would no longer pursue the appeal.
Anwar had defended the decision to withdraw the appeal, saying it only affected Sarawak, and said the government would present a proposal to the Conference of Rulers regarding enforcement on the use of the word “Allah”.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, meanwhile, said the appeal was withdrawn after discovering a contradiction between a 1986 cabinet decision and an administrative order issued by the Home Ministry the same year.
The ministry is now drafting a more comprehensive directive on issues pertaining to the use of the word “Allah”, as well as the words “baitullah”, “solat”, and “kaabah”.
