Putrajaya not living up to its promises, says Council of Churches

Local churches have accused Putrajaya of being inconsistent in keeping its promises, saying that it was pointless coming up with a policy when the states could overrule it.

In a reference to the prime minister’s statement yesterday that it was up to the states whether the word Allah could be used by non-Muslims, the Council of Churches of Malaysia stressed that no state laws should contravene the policies derived from the 10-point solution.

"Christians in Malaysia are beginning to see Putrajaya's inconsistencies in living up to the promises made to the community," CCM general-secretary Dr Hermen Shastri told The Malaysian Insider today.

Expressing disappointment with the prime minister’s stand on the issue, Hermen said the onus should be on Putrajaya to enforce its own policies.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that the 10-point solution allowing for the use of "Allah" in Bibles was valid in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as in any other state which did not forbid the use of the word among non-Muslims.

"However, in all other states, the use of the word Allah will depend on their respective enactments, such as in the case of Selangor," the prime minister had said.

Hermen said Article 11 of the Federal Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion and it was up to Putrajaya to see that this was adhered to.

"Christians should be allowed to practise their faith in peace," he said.

Ten out of Malaysia’s 13 states have enactments banning non-Muslim usage of “Allah” and other Arabic words. The exceptions are Penang, Sabah and Sarawak, and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) controls eight of those 10 states, while Selangor and Kelantan are administered by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

On January 2, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) had seized over 300 Malay and Iban-language Bibles from The Bible Society of Malaysia on the basis of the state’s 1988 enactment that prohibits non-Muslims from using 35 Arabic words and phrases in their faiths, including Allah.

Lawyers immediately denounced the Selangor state law as unconstitutional as its blanket ban on non-Muslim usage of “Allah” and other Arabic words is too broad, and not confined to Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution that prohibits non-Muslims from proselytising to Muslims.

In October last year, the appellate court upheld the Home Ministry's ban on Herald, prohibiting the Catholic publication from using the word Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia edition.

The Church is in the process of appealing and today, Hermen said Putrajaya should show good faith by withdrawing from the Herald case.

Christians form about 9% of Malaysia's 29 million population.

Almost two-thirds of Christians in Malaysia are Bumiputera and are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as “Allah” in their prayers and holy book.

Besides the Bumiputera Christians from Sabah and Sarawak, some of whom have moved to the peninsula to live and work, Orang Asli Christians in the peninsula also typically use Bahasa Malaysia in their worship. – TMI