Peter John Jaban said the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) ruling coalition should not only express its support for the High Court’s decision but instead be seen to be willing to defend religious freedom in the state.
In a statement today, he said the Sarawak government was trying to take the easy way out by claiming that the issue of Christians using the word “Allah” was not relevant to the state.
“They should do more to show their support for Ireland, the High Court’s decision, and to defend religious harmony in the state.
“The state government should join Ireland (as the respondent) in the appeal filed by Putrajaya,” Peter said.
He said Ireland, a Sarawakian native, had spent years fighting alone in the courts, using her own time, energy and money, and had finally won her case recently.
“The Sarawak government should stand behind Ireland this time around and fight for all Sarawakians.
“At a time when Sarawak’s autonomy, including religion, is being used in political campaigns, this should be tested in the courts.
“This is not a Sarawak issue but affects the whole nation, both Muslims and non-Muslims, as it was listed in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).”
Peter said the majority of Christians in Sarawak had used “Allah” to refer to God in the Malay language and in Dayak Bibles for a long time.
He added that although it may not be an issue in Sabah and Sarawak, it is a sensitive topic in the peninsula, and was likely to be played up in the run-up to the next general election (GE15).
Hence, he called for the Sarawak government to have a stronger stance on the matter.
On March 10, High Court judge Nor Bee Ariffin ruled that a Dec 5, 1986 home ministry directive to prohibit the use of the words “Allah”, “Baitullah”, “Solat” and “Kaabah” by non-Muslims was illegal and unconstitutional.
The judge said the directive was wrongly issued as it went beyond the aims of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
On Monday, the government filed an appeal against the High Court ruling that Christians were now not subject to the 1986 directive and therefore not prohibited from using the word “Allah” in their religious education and books.