In the wake of the acts of arson and break-ins over the ‘Allah’ controversy, Amnesty International has called the government to take ‘decisive steps’ to protect the lawyers and judges involved.

The government must ensure the physical safety of lawyers and judges in the case of Catholic weekly Herald and prosecute those seeking to intimidate them, said the human rights group.

NONE On Jan 14, Herald lawyer Derek Fernandez found that his Petaling Jaya office had been ransacked .

According to Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew, the incident was related to the on-going controversy surrounding the 'Allah' issue.

Amnesty also expressed concern over the Home Ministry’s statement on Jan 12 that it may use the Internal Security Act (ISA) in response to attacks related to the Herald case.

“The ISA provides for indefinite detention without charge or trial and has been used to detain prisoners of conscience,” it said in a statement issued today.

“Suspects should be tried under the criminal code in fair trials that meet international standards,” it added.

‘12 incidents’

Last month, the Kuala Lumpur High Court quashed a three-year Home Ministry proscription against the use by the Herald of the term ‘Allah’ in its Malay section, meant for its Christian bumiputera readership.

The government has since appealed the decision, but this did not abate anger among certain quarters of the Malay-Muslim population, who believe the issue is part of an effort to advance Christian proselytisation among Muslims.

Protests were held on Jan 8 at several mosques calling for the court decision to be overturned.

Earlier that same day, three churches were struck by arsonists. While two suffered some damage to their exterior, while the ground floor of three-storey Metro Tabernacle in Desa Melawati was gutted .

These were followed by eight other attacks on houses of worship in several states.

The most recent incident was yesterday, in which one of the glass windows of the Grace Global Prayer Church in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, was found to have been shattered.

While none of the perpetrators have been identified, a college student was yesterday arrested over a remark he made on Facebook which the authorities said was tantamount to ‘threatening... with the intent to cause harm'.