Political & judicial authority

The Catholic Lawyers’ Society Kuala Lumpur (CLS) welcomes the proposal by the National Unity Council to hold talks between religious and community leaders and the proposal by the Selangor State Government to carry out inter faith dialogues and forum to improve race relations in the State.

Efforts to improve relations between the religious groups in this country have become urgent and pressing. Read more »

Bible Society of Malaysia regrets to announce the raid of its offices by JAIS.

During the raid, JAIS seized 320 copies of the BM Bible and 10 copies of the Bup Kudus, the Iban Bible.

JAIS also arrested BSM President Mr Lee Min Choon and its office manager, Mr Sinclair Wong and brought them to the Damansara Police Station. Mr Lee and Mr Wong were released on bail after 2 hours and required to see JAIS officers on 10 January 2014. Read more »

The beautiful white church in Port Klang was small but parishioners filled all the pews for the first Sunday worship of 2014 to hear Reverend Father Lawrence Andrew celebrate the morning mass.

With Christmas decorations of red and green still adorning the church, including a replica of the manger where Jesus Christ was born still sitting at a corner, the Catholic weekly Herald editor told his flock to disregard any fear over recent incidents affecting Christians in Malaysia. Read more »

Christians are ending the year 2013 with concern on reports of calls by some parties for JAIS to issue letters to the Churches in Selangor prohibiting them from using the word “Allah”.

On 14th October 2013, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal by the Government and the Home Minister to ban the use of the word “Allah” in the Catholic publication Herald after the High Court found that the ban was unconstitutional. Read more »

Today, we celebrate the completion of the Jubilee Year.

We give thanks in our hearts to acknowledge the goodness of God for 50 years since Sabah confederated with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore (previously) to form a new nation called Malaysia.

We rejoice by sounding the mamangkis, the victory proclamation by the indigenous people of Sabah in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus. Read more »

The Obama administration was temporarily blocked by a U.S. Supreme Court justice from forcing an order of Catholic nuns to comply with a federal requirement to provide free contraceptive coverage for employees.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s two-sentence order will last at least until Jan. 3, the deadline she gave the administration to respond to a bid by the Denver and Baltimore chapters of the Little Sisters of the Poor for an exemption to the mandate. Read more »

The plan by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to stop Christians from using the word “Allah” appears to be a plan to persecute the minority, said a Christian legal group.

Catholic Lawyers' Society president Viola De Cruz Silva said there were no provisions in the Federal Constitution banning non-Muslims from propagating their religion among their community or to other non-Muslim communities or groups. Read more »

Umno Selangor is threatening to protest at all churches in the state on Sunday unless a senior Catholic priest apologises for insisting that Christians can use the word “Allah”, reported Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia today.

Umno Gombak division chief Abdul Rahim Kamarudin said they would stage a protest if Catholic weekly Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew does not withdraw his statement by Saturday. Read more »

Selangor religious authorities cannot enforce a state law which prohibits Christians from using the word “Allah” as the legislation was declared unconstitutional by the courts four years ago.

Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikkhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) president Jagir Singh said the 2009 decision by High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan ruled that non-Muslims could use words like “Allah” provided it was confined to their own religious groups. Read more »

Catholic churches in Selangor will continue to use the word Allah during its weekend services in Bahasa Malaysia despite the state’s Islamic Religious Department (Jais) intention to send them reminders on a 1988 state enactment prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word.

Catholic weekly Herald editor Rev Father Lawrence Andrew said Article 11(3) (A) of the Federal Constitution prescribes that every religious group has its right to manage its own religious affairs. Read more »