1. The Malaysian Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com)
(1) Khairy condems actions of two Al-Islam journalists, 16 July 2009
by Syed Jaymal Zahiid
KUALA LUMPUR; Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin became the first Umno leader to speak out against the two Muslim journalists who went undercover to two Catholic churches, describing their action as “appalling and offensive.”
His latest blog posting blasted the Al Islam journalists for pretending to be Christians and taking part in its rituals — receiving and spitting out the Holy Communion wafer for photographs — saying their action was unacceptable even by a Muslim such as himself.
The pictures of the crushed wafer were published alongside the article in the Al-Islam magazine.
Khairy's posting makes him the first Malaysian-Muslim politician to speak on the issue which has upset many in the Christian community. The two journalists were investigating reports of mass conversions at the two churches.
"I have no reservations whatsoever in condemning this instance of unethical journalism, grounded in both disrespect and ignorance," said Khairy.
"The Islamic virtues of empathy, respect and tolerance were obviously absent in both the journalists and the magazine's editorial team that sanctioned the publishing of the article and the methods employed to gather information," he added.
Khairy, who is also the MP for Rembau, further said those behind the fracas should imagine what they would feel if Christians were to do the same thing, going to a mosque pretending to worship as Muslims and then making a mockery out of their religious practice.
"I suspect Al-Islam failed to consider the fact that the gravity of their own actions were similar to this hypothetical situation where the sanctity of the Muslim place and act of worship are violated," commented Khairy.
This incident plus the recent arrest and overnight detention of nine people who were allegedly on a conversion mission at Universiti Putra Malaysia have made many people doubt the sincerity of the 1 Malaysia concept.
Another case which has left many Christians upset is the swift legal action taken against the Catholic Church for using the word “Allah” in their newspaper. “Allah” in Arabic simply means god but many Malaysian Muslims believe that non-Muslims should not be allowed to use the word.
(2)Islamic councils allowed to fight Catholic Church over‘Allah', 3 August 2009
by Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR; The Catholic Church today failed to block several Muslim groups from interfering in their challenge to lift the government ban on Christians using the word “Allah” to refer to God.
The High Court here allowed 10 state Islamic councils to intervene in the church’s suit against the Home Minister on the basis that their legal rights as advisers to the rulers, who sit as heads of Islam in their respective states, would be gravely affected by any decision taken by the court.
Judge Lau Bee Lan, from the appellate and special division of the High Court, also allowed the Malaysian Chinese-Muslim Association (Macma) to take part.
The 70,000-strong association, headed by Datuk Mustapha Ma, had previously argued that it was also an interested party because allowing Christians to use the word “Allah” to refer to any God but the Muslim one, would confuse its members.
The Hight Court, however, barred the Malaysian Gurdwara Council from taking part, noting that the case at hand dealt specifically with the church’s demands for the government to allow them to freely publish the word in their newspaper The Herald.
Judge Lau, who made the decision in chambers, reportedly said the Gurdwara Council had failed to fulfill the necessary criteria to intervene as it had not showed Sikhs would be affected by the court’s decision.
Lawyer Balwant Singh Sidhu who represents the Gurdwara Council admitted the government had not placed any conditions on Sikhs to use the word “Allah” in their worship, unlike the case with the Catholic Church.
But Balwant said the Sikh body may yet file a separate suit against the government to defend their rights.
Judge Lau set Aug 25 afternoon to hear the preliminary objections from the state Islamic councils.
Lawyer for the Terengganu and Perak Islamic Councils, Abdul Rahim Sinwan, told The Malaysian Insider that the use of the word “Allah” is a “non-justiciable” issue, meaning the court has no power to hear the case.
“For example, if tomorrow is Ramadan and someone wants to challenge that and take it to court, the court cannot hear it, because it has no powers to do so,” he explained, by way of example.
But counsel for the church, S. Selvarajah, said the church would refer to the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya to appeal against the High Court decision.
“We have 30 days to file the appeal,” he said.
The church filed for a judicial review against the Home Minister in early February after receiving several letters warning it against publishing the word “Allah” outside the Muslim context in its multi-lingual newspaper, The Herald.
The Home Minister threatened to shut down The Herald by taking back their annual publishing licence if the weekly insisted on using the word “Allah”.
Its disappointed editor-priest Reverend Father Lawrence Andrew maintains that the judge’s decision today is a “challenge.”
“The judicial process in this country is complicated. It’s not straightforward,” he told The Malaysian Insider, but refused to admit defeat at this point.
2.Bernama.com (http://www.bernama.com.my)
Court Allows Religious Councils To Be Intervenors, 3 August 2009
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- The High Court here Monday allowed eight parties, including seven Islamic religious councils, to be intervenors in the new application by the Kuala Lumpur Roman Catholic Church for a judicial review in the matter of using the word "Allah" in its weekly publications.
Justice Lau Bee Lan made the decision in her chambers on grounds that all the parties involved had legal interests in the issue.
The eight are the Islamic religious councils of Perak, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Johor and Melaka, and the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association.
The court however rejected the application by the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council to intervene in the case.
Senior Federal Counsel Datuk Kamaluddin Mohd Said told reporters that the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council's application was rejected as it did not have any legal interests in the issue compared to the others.
On Feb 16, Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, filed a new application for a judicial review after a similar application in 2008 was deemed academic following the expiry of The Herald's publication permit for the period of Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2008.
In the application, Pakiam, as the publisher of The Herald, named the Home Ministry and the government of Malaysia as respondents.
He is seeking, among other things, a declaration that the decision by the respondents on Jan 7, 2009, prohibiting him from using the word "Allah" in the "Herald-The Catholic Weekly" publication was illegal and that the word "Allah" was not exclusive to the religion of Islam.
3. Sun2Surf(http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=36486)
Court allows religious councils to be interveners in Herald case, 3 August 2009
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 3, 2009): The High Court today allowed Islamic religious councils from seven states and the Federal Territory, together with the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, to be interveners in a judicial review case on the use of the word "Allah" in the Catholic newsletter Herald.
However, High Court judge Datuk Lau Bee Lan, who made the decision in her chambers today, did not allow Majlis Gurdwara Malaysia to be an intervener.
In their application, the religious councils had argued that they had legal interest as they are advisers to the head of state, Sultan or Yang di-Pertua of the states. The Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association had also argued that it had legal interest.
Majlis Gurdwara's lawyer, Balwant Singh Sidhu, said he will discuss with his client whether to appeal or not.
The case is fixed on Aug 25 for preliminary points to be raised by the interveners on the issue of non-justiciability.
On Feb 16, Kuala Lumpur Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, as publisher of Herald, filed for a judicial review to quash the decision of the Home Ministry and the government, dated Jan 7, that Herald's publication permit for the period Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2009, is subject to the condition that it be prohibited from using the word "Allah".
He is also seeking to declare that the decision of Home Ministry and the government was illegal and ultra vires the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
The other seven declarations sought by Herald's publisher are:
・That the applicant has the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in the Herald in the exercise of his right that other religions other than Islam may be practised in peace.
・That Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution does not empower the respondents to prohibit the applicant from using the word "Allah" in the Herald.
・That the applicant has the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in the weekly in the exercise of his right to freedom of speech and expression.
・That the applicant has the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in the Herald in the exercise of his freedom of religion which includes the right to manage its own religious affairs.
・That the applicant has the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in the Herald in the exercise his right in respect of education of the Catholic congregation in the Christian religion.
・That the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 does not authorise the respondents to prohibit the applicant from using the word "Allah" in the Herald and
・That the word "Allah" is not exclusive to the religion of Islam.
4．Berita Harian Online(http://www.bharian.com.my)
Mahkamah benar 7 majlis agama jadi pencelah, 3 Ogos 2009/11 Syaaban 1430
KUALA LUMPUR: Mahkamah Tinggi di sini hari ini membenarkan tujuh Majlis Agama Islam negeri dan sebuah persatuan menjadi pencelah dalam permohonan baru Gereja Roman Katholik untuk semakan kehakiman mengenai penggunaan perkataan "Allah" dalam penerbitan mingguannya.
Hakim Lau Bee Lan membuat keputusan itu dalam kamarnya dengan alasan semua pihak itu mempunyai kepentingan undang-undang. Pihak pencelah itu terdiri Majlis Agama Islam negeri dari Perak, Terengganu, Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Kedah, Johor dan Melaka selain Persatuan Cina Muslim Malaysia.
Bagaimanapun permohonan Majlis Gurdwara Malaysia untuk turut mencelah ditolak.
Peguam Kanan Persekutuan Datuk Kamaluddin Mohd Said memberitahu pemberita ia ditolak kerana majlis itu tidak berkepentingan seperti yang lain.
Pada 16 Februari lalu, Ketua Biskop Gereja Roman Katholik Kuala Lumpur, Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam, memfailkan permohonan baru untuk semakan kehakiman selepas permohonan semakan kehakiman pada 2008 menjadi akademik berikutan permit penerbitan 'The Herald'' bagi tempoh 1 Januari hingga 31 Disember 2008, telah luput.
Dalam permohonan itu, Pakiam, sebagai penerbit 'The Herald', menamakan Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) dan kerajaan Malaysia sebagai responden dalam tindakannya menuntut perisytiharaan bahawa keputusan responden bertarikh 7 Januari, 2009, melarang beliau daripada menggunakan perkataan "Allah" dalam ''Herald-The Catholic Weekly'' adalah haram.
（Tamat）
