Religious Freedom in Malaysia Under Threat
By Jose Mario De Vega

The right of the minority is on the same statutory level as the right of the majority in the eyes of the Constitution

I refer to “Courts continue to ignore rights of Christian minority – Christian Federation of Malaysia”, Side Views, the Malaysian Insider, October 14 and ‘We respect Allah ruling, but…’ by Anisah Shukry, The Free Malaysia Today, October 14.

So after waiting for nearly four years, the Court of Appeals has ruled and their ruling is to overturn the ruling of the lower court that gave non-Muslims the right to use the word Allah.

The said judgment sends shockwaves not only to the mainland but most importantly to East Malaysia “who have used Allah in Christian prayers and worship services for more than 100 years. Yes, far longer than the birth of this nation or for that matter, the age of the chief protagonist, Umno.” Now, they are compelled and enjoined not to use the said word, because to do so, they are in danger of violating the law!

In light of the said pronouncement of the court, I clearly understand that the “Christian community in Malaysia is gravely dismayed and very disappointed by the decision of the Court of Appeal to uphold the power of the Minister to ban the use of the word Allah in the Herald publication. In a wide-ranging decision, all Christian publications in Bahasa Malaysia would appear to be affected by this ruling.”

Commentaries:

It is my firm view that the ruling of the court is not only unwise, but totally preposterous by virtue of the irrefutable fact that it is completely unconstitutional.

Point one: the ruling has reinterpreted and reinvented the constitutional provision that guarantee the right of the people to religious freedom.

With all due respect, to the learned judge who wrote the decision; this is clearly an ultra vires act of the court, because this is unmistakably a judicial legislation; which is not allowed in a truly democratic system of government!

Point two: the ruling did not categorically answer head-on and squarely the very reason why non-Muslims cannot use the word Allah.

I concur with the noble contention of PAS that:

The Court of Appeal’s decision to ban the word ‘Allah’ in Christian publication The Herald does not change the fact that Islam allows non-Muslims to use the word in the first place.

Specifically, I share Shah Alam MP, Khalid Samad’s position that:

“The government should educate Muslims regarding all the verses of the Quran which mentions non-Muslims discussing about Allah with the Prophet Muhammad, and using the word freely without any hindrance whatsoever. Instead, our government seems to be very proud that we are the only Muslim nation that practices this ban – that we are going beyond even what the Prophet Muhammad had done.”

I am also in complete agreement with the Samad that: rather than banning the use of ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims for fear of retaliation by “stupid people”, the government should focus on educating the Muslims on what the Quran said over the issue.

The Question of the integral part of the faith and practice

Again, with respect to the court, specifically to the learned judge that penned the decision, I would like to state my question and clarification.

First, I wonder what is the basis of the said magistrate in stating that the name Allah is not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity; when in fact the whole of the country knows that he is a Muslim?

How can he speak base on the perspective of a Christian when he is not one?

Never mind, let us presume that as a learned judge and as a man of tolerance, who knows how does it feels or believes or practice as a Christian, yet how did he knows that the word Allah is not an integral part of the faith and practice of the Christian?

I wonder did the learned judge know that even during the days of the Prophet, the word is being used by the people of the Middle East; people of different faiths and beliefs?

Up to now, people there are still using the word Allah to refer to god, but it does not necessarily means that they are Muslims, though admittedly they are the majority there. There are so many religious groups there that use the word and no group has ever claimed that the said word is exclusive to them or to their community.

What seems to be the debate or the issue with the word Allah? When in truth and in fact, said word is known all over the word as Arabic for god!

The biggest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia, Malaysia’s neighbor has no issue or quarrel or animosity with their local Christians using the word to refer to their god. Hence, what is the point in Malaysia? What is the big deal?

I am not persuaded by the court’s ratio decidendi and appropriation of some utterly questionable “nebulous concept of confusion and stability and harmony in Malaysia.”

Rather, it is my firm view that the court’s ultra vires act of overturning the 2009 ruling is the very thing that confused the public and society at large. Worst, said ruling again made Malaysia land on the world stage but in my view, albeit on the ‘wrong page’ of the international opinion!

Is this what we want?

The ruling instead of stabilizing unity in diversity has undermined it and in no small way it has contributed in shaking the nation’s religious harmony.

Worst, by “stating that “the name ‘Allah’ is not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity” the court has totally ignored the position of our East Malaysian Bumiputra and Orang Asli Christians, who constitute 60% of the church in Malaysia and who are Bahasa Malaysia-speaking.”

The recent ruling, “by holding that “the welfare of an individual or group must yield to that of the community” and applying this principle to freedom of religion, this decision is yet another erosion and infringement of the constitutional protection to the freedom of religious communities to profess and practise their faith and to manage their own affairs.”

Question:

Are we now heading to the dictatorship of the majority? Does the fundamental law now only favor the religious majority?

I do not think so!

The last time that I checked, it is still written at the Federal Constitution that Malaysia is a democratic and secular government. That I, as a citizen, constituted a majority of one and that the supreme law recognized that inherent right!

The right of the minority is on the same statutory level as the right of the majority in the eyes of the Constitution.

Therefore, I question what it appears to be a re-reading and re-interpretation of Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution.

Further, “it would now appear that a minority religion can only be practised and professed in Malaysia to the extent that it does not upset the “peace and harmony” of adherents of the majority religion.”

I reiterate my position that this is patently illegal and utterly unconstitutional!

Needless to state, I overwhelmingly concur with the Christian Federation of Malaysia that:

“The Bahasa Malaysia-speaking churches have been using the word Allah both before and after the independence of Malaya and the formation of Malaysia. The use of the word Allah by the Malaysian churches had not been an issue all these decades.

“However, the various authorities in this country, by making an issue of it and by what would appear to be selective action or inaction, have only encouraged and fuelled further misunderstandings, mistrusts and brokenness between the Muslim and Christian communities. This will only further undermine the unity of Malaysians.

“Despite this very negative development, the Christian Federation of Malaysia reminds all churches in Malaysia to always look to God and to pray for wisdom and guidance for all involved as to the next steps that they should take.

“We welcome the fact that the decision of the Court of Appeal does not appear to cover the use of the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia Bible, the Al-Kitab.

“We expect our Honourable Prime Minister and the Cabinet to continue to honour the 10-point solution with respect to the Bahasa Malaysia Bible, the Al-Kitab. We shall, therefore, continue to use the word Allah in our worship, liturgy, prayers and educational materials of the church.

“As Malaysian Christians we are committed to our beloved nation and our love for Malaysia remains steadfast and we continue to respond with love and not in hatred as we face this on-going trial and tribulation.”

My humble suggestion to them is to promptly file an appeal to the said ruling of the Court of Appeal.

If on the event that the ruling should still be adverse, CFM and other aggrieved parties must resign themselves to communicate this matter to the ASEAN Human Rights Advisory Council. If it still necessary, then transmit or elevate this matter all the way to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Jose Mario Dolor De Vega

Philosophy lecturer
College of Arts and Letters
Polytechnic University of the Philippines

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