1. Malaysiakini.com (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
(1) Malay-language edition of Catholic paper banned: editor, 1 January 2009
A Catholic newspaper has been ordered by the government to cease its Malay language edition until courts resolve a ban on the paper's use of the word "Allah", its editor said today.
Herald newspaper editor Father Lawrence Andrew said the move was part of a series of restrictions put in place by the government when it renewed the paper's licence on Tuesday.
The Herald, circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God", with authorities saying it should only be used by Muslims.
"The constitution says Malay is the national language so why can't we use the national language in Malaysia?" he told AFP.
He called the ban "unacceptable" and said he intended to take action.
Many Catholics are East M'sian bumis
Andrew said the ban did not make any sense because a large proportion of Catholics in Malaysia are bumiputera who mainly speak Malay.
The term "bumiputera", or "son of the soil", refers to ethnic Muslim Malays and the indigenous inhabitants in peninsular Malaysia and on Borneo island who are mostly Christian.
"More than 50 percent of our congregation are bumiputera and two of our bishops are bumiputera," he added.
The issue will be decided by the courts next month, while Home Ministry officials told the New Straits Times daily today they will be monitoring the paper's actions closely.
(2) Catholic weekly threatens action against gov't, 2 January 2009
A Catholic newspaper today threatened legal action against the government after being told to stop publishing its Malay language edition in a row over its use of the word "Allah."
Herald, circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God," with authorities saying "Allah" should be used only by Muslims.
Now the newspaper has been told it must stop publishing its Malay edition while the issue is resolved in the courts, as part of conditions for it to be allowed to continue printing its editions in English, Chinese and Tamil.
Archbishop 'totally perplexed'
Murphy Pakiam, the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur and publisher of the weekly newspaper, said in a letter to the Home Ministry that it had seven days to revoke its decision or face legal action.
He said he was "totally perplexed" over the suspension which "reeks of ill will and bad faith" and was effectively a punishment for the legal battle that is due to be settled next month.
"We are therefore advised and verily believe that this condition constitutes a serious violation of our constitutional freedom of expression and speech," he said in the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by AFP.
The Herald's editor, Father Lawrence Andrew, has said that more than half Malaysia's Catholics are from indigenous groups, most of whom live on the Borneo island states and who mainly speak Malay.
2. AFP (http://www.google.com)
Malaysia bans Malay-language edition of Catholic paper: editor, 1 January 2009
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — A Catholic newspaper in Malaysia has been ordered by the government to cease its Malay language edition until courts resolve a ban on the paper's use of the word "Allah", its editor said Thursday.
Herald newspaper editor Father Lawrence Andrew said the move was part of a series of restrictions put in place by the conservative Muslim government when it renewed the paper's licence on Tuesday.
The Herald, circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God," with authorities saying it should only be used by Muslims.
"The Constitution says Malay is the national language so why can't we use the national language in Malaysia?" he told AFP.
He called the ban "unacceptable" and said he intended to take action.
Andrew said the ban did not make any sense because a large proportion of Catholics in Malaysia are Bumiputera who mainly speak Malay.
The term "Bumiputera", or "Son of the soil", refers to ethnic Muslim Malays and the indigenous inhabitants in peninsular Malaysia and on Borneo island who are mostly Christian.
"More than 50 percent of our congregation are Bumiputera and two of our bishops are Bumiputera," he added.
The issue will be decided by the courts next month, while home ministry officials told the New Straits Times daily Thursday they will be monitoring the paper's actions closely.
Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.
About 60 percent of the nation's 27 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims, who dominate the government. The rest of the population are mostly ethnic Chinese and Indians -- practising Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.
・Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
3. New Straits Times Online (http://nst.com.my)
‘Herald' gets new permit with strings attached, 1 January 2009
by Farrah Naz Karim
PUTRAJAYA: After months of waiting for word if they could continue publishing, the publisher of the Herald, a Catholic weekly, can now heave a sigh of relief. The Home Ministry decided on Tuesday to approve the publication's annual printing permit.
However, it was not without conditions.
The ministry's Publications and Quranic Text Control unit deputy secretary Abdul Razak Abdul Latif said the approval letter sent to the publisher outlined three rules that they must abide. They are:
- to cease the publication of Herald in Bahasa Malaysia until the court decides on its move to seek a declaratory relief that it is entitled to use the word "Allah";
- that the publication can only be sold in churches; and
- that it prints clearly on the cover that the paper is only meant for Christians.
The publication, through the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, is seeking a declaration that the home minister's directive to cease the use of the word "Allah" is illegal and null and void.
Razak said the unit would be monitoring Herald closely to ensure that these conditions were followed.
"The minute they break any of these conditions, we will lodge a report with the enforcement unit which will then take action against the weekly's publisher," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He said it was unfair to claim that the ministry was deliberately giving the Herald a hard time, including waiting till the last minute to approve its printing permit.
The publication had been given a string of warning letters for dabbling in issues other than religion.
He said the warning letters were issued as the publication's previous permit had stated that the contents of the weekly should solely be on religious matters.
Under the latest permit, he said there should be no problems for the 32-page weekly, currently published in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil, to touch on issues beyond religion, as the ministry had approved its application for covering "religion", "current affairs" and "international affairs" topics.
"We have nothing personal against the publication. It was all a big misunderstanding.
"The unit also monitors the contents of the publication to ensure that what is printed does not erode the akidah (faith) of Muslims," he said, adding that the permit approval letter was signed by Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.
© Copyright 2009 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
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