Political & judicial authority

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Catholic Bishops Conference Pastoral Letter About Herald

My Dear People of God,

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

We have come to the end of a long journey which began in 2008 when we were told that we cannot call God in the way the majority of our Catholics in Malaysia have been used to for centuries. We mounted a challenge in the court to exercise our constitutional right to manage our own religious affairs. The Church took the position that the minister's restriction went against the spirit as well as the letter of our Federal Constitution. Read more »

Bar Council: Cease Use Of Sedition Act 1948 - We Should Not Have To Walk On Eggshells In Malaysia

The Malaysian Bar is concerned and perturbed by the arrest of Eric Paulsen, Executive Director and Co-founder of Lawyers for Liberty, under the Sedition Act 1948, for reportedly having tweeted that “JAKIM is promoting extremism every Friday.

Government needs to address that if serious about extremism in Malaysia” [1].

It was reported that he was arrested by 20 police officers on 12 January 2015 and remanded in police custody pending investigations. Read more »

CLS Press Statement: Intolerance Has Reared Its Ugly Head Again In Malaysia

The Catholic Lawyers’ Society, Kuala Lumpur is disheartened by the recent event in Johor where a Catholic Priest was questioned by the police and hymnal books meant to be used in church service for the Orang–Asal of the Catholic faith were confiscated.

Christmas is around the corner and Christians have been preparing for this joyous occasion by putting up Christmas trees, singing carols and decorating homes. Read more »

CFM Responds To MAIS Statement Issued During Recent Return Of BM Bibles To Bible Society Of Malaysia

The Christian Federation of Malaysia has taken time to study carefully the ramifications of the MAIS’ statement (signed letter in English from MAIS) which was released on 14 November 2014 together with the return of the Bibles seized by JAIS from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).

The return was enabled by the goodwill of DYMM Sultan Selangor, the Mentri Besar of Selangor (initiated by his predecessor) and other individuals. CFM appreciates the return of the Bibles but also supports the recent statement by the BSM on the problems that have surfaced. Read more »

Statement by Azmin Ali Menteri Besar of Selangor on return of Al Kitab Bibles

This morning the 351 Bibles that contained the word ‘Allah’ that were seized earlier this year have been returned to the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) on the occasion of a courtesy call on His Royal Highness Sultan of Selangor by The Most Revd Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok, who is the Chairman of ACS and Acting President of the Council of Churches of Malaysia at the Istana Alam Shah, Klang. Read more »

CLS Press Statement: AG Must Act Against Ibrahim Ali's call To Burn Malay Bible

The Catholic Lawyers’ Society, Kuala Lumpur (CLS) is deeply disappointed that the Attorney General (AG) will not prosecute Datuk Ibrahim Ali for his calls to the Muslims to seize and burn the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Holy Bibles on the basis that the latter was only defending the sanctity of Islam.

The Federal Government has echoed similar statements through Nancy Shukri, de facto Minister of Law in parliament on October 7, 2014. Read more »

Malaysian Bar's Walk for Freedom of Speech

CLS members joined the legal fraternity in the Walk for Peace & Freedom to Parliament House today.

The Malaysian Bar had called for the walk as part of an on-going campaign for the repeal of the Sedition Act 1948.

In recent times, the Act has been used not just towards politicians but against lecturers. Lawyers have not been spared, as some have been charged or are being investigated under the Act. Read more »

Judges Must Have Moral Courage To Make Unpopular Decisions

Judges must have moral courage to make decisions that are unpopular with politicians, the media and the public, said Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria.

He said judges should not fear any party being dissatisfied with their decision if they had provided a clear judgement based on established case law authorities.

He said there was no directive issued to judges to agree with the majority decision of the presiding panel at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court. Read more »

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