PUTRAJAYA: Sarawakian Christian Jill Ireland is free to practise her religion, including using the word “Allah” in any part of Malaysia because the Federal Constitution guarantees that right, the Court of Appeal heard yesterday.

Her lawyer Lim Heng Seng said although Islam is the religion of the federation, other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the country.

“This is the intention of the framers of the constitution when Sabah and Sarawak were parties in the formation of Malaysia,” he said.

Submitting in a cross-appeal filed by Ireland to exert her constitutional right, Lim said Parliament could impose restrictions on fundamental rights by enacting laws against subversion and acts prejudicial to public order, but not on freedom of religion.

Lim said if Sarawakians and Sabahans were allowed to use the word “Allah” in those territories, it would be absurd to stop them in other parts of Malaysia.

“So Jill, who is from Sarawak, can practise her religion and use the word ‘Allah’ unimpeded in any part of Malaysia,” he said.

Last year, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ordered the Home Ministry to return eight CDs containing the word “Allah” to Ireland.

The government is appealing against that order.

Judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof last July ordered the return of the CDs to Ireland, a Melanau clerk who had brought them from Indonesia, but the government managed to obtain a stay to retain them on grounds of public interest.

In 2008, Home Ministry officials confiscated the CDs from Ireland at the then low-cost carrier terminal in Sepang.

The CDs, which Ireland bought for personal use, had titles such as “Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Hidup Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah” and “Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah”.

She had also asked for a declaration, saying that she had a legitimate expectation to exercise the right to use “Allah” and to continue to own and import such materials.

Ireland’s legal team argued that the case was not about Christianity against Islam, but about her constitutional right as a bumiputera Christian.

Putrajaya submitted that the home minister had exercised his power under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 to withhold the material if it was likely to be prejudicial to public order.

Lim said yesterday the Christians, mostly natives and bumiputera in both states, have used the word “Allah” in their religious practices and education since 1647.

Meanwhile federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan, appearing for the government, said the home minister was guided by a 1986 government directive that prohibited Christian publications from using “Allah”, “kaabah”, “solat” and “baitullah”.

He said the reasons were pegged on grounds of preventing misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims that could lead to threats to national security and public order.

“That order dated Dec 5, 1986, is still in force,” he said, adding that it was a pre-emptive strike by the minister, who did not want to wait for violence to break out.

Shamsul said the decision to withhold the CDs under the PPPA was conveyed to Ireland in a letter signed by Suzanah Muin on July 7, 2008, on behalf of the minister.

He added that Ireland’s constitutional rights took a back seat because the minister’s decision was based on national security and public order.

In reply, Lim said Ireland wanted a declaration that the minister could not rely on the 1986 order and he could not use the PPPA to curtail her constitutional rights.

He said the minister did not exercise his power properly and no reason was given for why the CDs were classified as a threat to public order or in breach of Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (commonly referred to as Jakim) guidelines.

The three-member bench chaired by Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat deferred its decision. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 24, 2015.