Political & judicial authority

The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur has filed his application for leave to refer 26 questions of law to the Federal Court. The Application was filed on 11 November 2013 through his solicitors Fernandez & Selvarajah.

The Application is filed against the decision of the Court of Appeal made on 14th October 2013 that allowed the Government’s appeal prohibiting the Herald, the Catholic weekly newspaper from using the word ‘Allah’ in its Malay language edition. Read more »

The Advocates' Association of Sarawak is deeply concerned with the impact of the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on 14/10/2013 in the Herald case on the constitutional rights of Christians in Sarawak to practice their faith freely and in harmony in any part of the Federation.

Despite the public assurances given by the Federal Government and the State Government of Sarawak, that the decision of the Court of Appeal does not apply to Sabah and Sarawak, the Advocates' Association of Sarawak remain unconvinced that this is the actual legal position. Read more »

The Malaysian Bar is disappointed to read in the news media reports on 2 November 2013 that the Muslim Lawyers Association has allegedly threatened or warned the Bar not to back the Catholic newspaper The Herald’s appeal against the controversial Court of Appeal ruling on the use of the word ‘Allah’ or it “would not hesitate to take further action”.

It is strange for an association of lawyers to fear arguments taken in a court of law and to impel them to issue threats. It leaves one to wonder what it is that they are afraid of. Read more »

Archimandrite Naaman Rawik, Greek Catholic priest of Raqqa and Tabqa, city in northern Syria, for months in the hands of anti-Assad militias, has found refuge in Lebanon after Islamist militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant had attacked and damaged his two parishes.

In past days, Archimandrite Rawik addressed a public message to Islamist militants, announced by the Fraternité Chrètienne Sarthe-Orient and sent to Fides Agency, in which he condemns their violent acts against churches as opposed to the Islamic tradition. Read more »

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not be misled by the assurance uttered by certain quarters that we can use the word 'Allah' to refer to God in Sabah and Sarawak. It is more than just about a word; it is about the fundamental right to worship God in the way we have been doing for generations without hindrance.

The decision of the Court of Appeal against the Herald puts new restrictions on our human and constitutional right to freedom of religion. Read more »

A simple way to illustrate the point that the measure of protection given in the federal constitution may be absolute or limited is to compare the language employed in Articles 10 and 11.

Article 10 protects freedom of speech, assembly and association. But Parliament may, by law, restrict the rights under Article 10, whereas Parliament cannot enact any law to restrict or curtail the freedom of religion under Article 11(1) and (3). Read more »

The Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham) views with grave concern the recent judgment by the Court of Appeal in its interpretation of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution as eroding religious freedom in Malaysia.

In this connection, Proham makes reference to the views of the Bar Council on this matter in which it stated that the way Article 3 (1) was interpreted “was an unnatural reading” on the status of Islam and other religions. Read more »

The recent judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal against the Herald newspaper has raised serious concerns to many Malaysians, especially the Christian community.

As President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, I hereby state that the three Judges were grossly misinformed when concluding that the word ‘Allah’ was “not the essential or integral part of the religion of Christianity”. Read more »

The Malaysian Bar is deeply concerned by the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on 14 October 2013 in what is commonly referred to as the “Herald” or “Allah” case.

The concerns arise from the Court’s interpretation of Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution on the status of Islam and other religions, and Articles 11(1) and 11(4) on the fundamental right to profess and practise a religion. Read more »