Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz has put his foot in his mouth, with his remark that the use of ‘Allah’ should be restricted to those in Sabah and Sarawak.

NONE Political analyst and constitutional law expert Abdul Aziz Bari ( right ) argued that Nazri must resign if he chooses to express a different stance from that of the government on the contentious issue.

He said that under the concept of collective responsibility, a minister must remain silent even if he or she does not agree with decisions made by the cabinet. Those who wish to differ will have to resign.

A recent example was the departure of de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim from both the cabinet and Umno because he opposed the use of the Internal Security Act and saw no reform of the judiciary.

Abdul Aziz was referring to Nazri’s announcement last Friday, that Christians in Sabah and Sarawak could use the term ‘Allah’, but that the practice would not be extended to those in the peninsula.

parliament gobind singh ban over nazri mistake 251108 01 “From the constitutional point of view, Nazri may just be making clear the government's stand or policy. However, this has no legal effect as the matter now stands before the Court of Appeal,” he said.

“Nazri ( left ) has no power to vary the law as laid down by the Kuala Lumpur High Court. It is quite absurd. One cannot see how his formula can be applied, more so when Nazri does not have (jurisdiction to intervene).”

Nazri contradicted

Abdul Aziz also said that neither the palace nor the government has the right to interfere with the judiciary.

    

The government has been named as a respondent in the dispute over the use of ‘Allah’. By extension, Nazri is a member of the government.

Islamic Development Department director-general Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz had told the media on Saturday that there should not be two sets of rules for the use of ‘Allah’.

NONE Deputy premier Muhyiddin Yassin ( left ) had said in London last week that the government will abide by the ruling.

Nazri, however, is not the only minister to have contradicted the official stand on the issue.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had initially indicated that it was all right for Muslim groups to protest the ‘Allah’ ruling.

Following the police chief’s clarification against demonstrations, Hishammuddin ‘clarified’ his remark.

Allah 'banned' everywhere except FTs and Penang

Nazri, a cabinet minister in charge of legal affairs, said there are state laws banning others from using ‘Allah’ everywhere except federal territories including Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

He said that Christians in Borneo could continue using the disputed word as "it has been the culture there", although it was off-limits when they came to peninsular Malaysia.

"There is a law against using 'Allah'. The Christians from Borneo cannot use the word 'Allah' when they come to the peninsula," he told reporters.

"There is a law against the use of the word 'Allah' except in Penang and in the Federal Territory," he added.

The Federal Territory is a collective of three regions - the capital Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital Putrajaya and the offshore financial centre of Labuan.

Nazri said Christians elsewhere should use the Malay word 'Tuhan', which is the generic translation for a deity, and reiterated the view that the use of 'Allah' could confuse Muslims and lead them to illegal conversions.

Ragunath Kesavan, president of the Malaysian Bar Council, said Nazri's comments illustrated the lack of uniform laws in Malaysia.

"It will be difficult to implement what Nazri proposes. I don't think the church wants that position. I think he is trying to accommodate certain parties and find a middle path to resolve the issue," he told AFP.

The attacks on the churches, which have been pelted with Molotov cocktails, paint and stones, have escalated ethnic tensions in Malaysia.