Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Bernard Dompok, who isn’t known for mincing his words, opines that the Herald has the right to use the word Allah in its Malay pages until the court rules otherwise.

The Herald is a Roman Catholic weekly with a circulation of 14,000 and publishes in Malay, English, Tamil and Chinese.

About half the country’s estimated two million Christians, largely in Sabah and Sarawak, are Roman Catholics.

bernard dompok and islamic state “It is not for the Home Ministry to pre-empt the decision of the court,” said Dompok, also the president of the United Pasok Momogun KadazanDusunMurut Organisation (Upko), in Kota Kinabalu on a return visit for Chinese New Year.

“I understand from the lawyers that the Herald should be allowed to publish as they published before, until the outcome in the court.”

Dompok was commenting on Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar’s warning in recent days that the Herald’s “(continued) show of defiance (against the Home Minister) could cause conflict and anger among other races in the country”.

“If anything happens, then don’t put the blame on us,” continued Syed Hamid who has since “referred the matter to the ministry’s legal unit”.

“If we decide to ban the publication, they will get angry and accuse us of stifling freedom. If a religion decides to show its strength and numerous other actions, I think it’s verging on dangerous territory.”

Wisdom prevailed then

Muslim groups and PAS, the Islamic party, have so far remained silent on the matter.

In Islam, according to some scholars, no one should be forbidden from using the word Allah, the chief of all the deities in pre-Islamic times until Prophet Muhammad re-affirmed that there was only Allah and, in the oneness of God, no other deity should be worshipped.

“This matter (Allah) could have come up during the time of Dr Mahathir (former prime minister) but it didn’t because wisdom prevailed,” added Dompok and suggested that Home Ministry officials were out of control despite their political masters having established “clear and correct guidelines in line with known precedents in Malaysia and elsewhere”.

If the question of “confusion among Muslims” is a problem, pointed out Dompok, the Herald is sold only at Roman Catholic churches and has also complied with the Home Ministry’s requirement that every copy of the newspaper be stamped with the Malay word Terhad” (limited edition or restricted).

Dompok deplored “the Home Ministry’s use of strong language against the Herald and its continued harassment of the newspaper” which he described as “needless and only creating further controversy” and asked the ministry’s officials to cease and desist on the matter.

herald court case 050508 “It was only after the recent Cabinet meeting, during which I brought up the matter, was the Herald given back the right to publish in Malay,” clarified Dompok on the Home Ministry’s initial condition, when renewing the weekly’s publishing permit for this year, that it must not publish in Malay until and unless the court rules on the use of the word Allah in Malay by Christians.

“Lately, the Home Ministry has been harassing the Herald to such an extent that they had no choice but to go court on the matter and now we are awaiting the hearing.”

“The Home Ministry need not get worked up over this matter or become kelam kabut (disoriented and confused).”

Revisiting familiar territory, Dompok reiterated that the issue before the court is the historical use of the word Allah for God not only among Christians in the country but also among Christians in Indonesia and Arabic-speaking countries, among others.

Other factors in support of the continued use of the word Allah, as cited, include the question of “whose language is Malay”, the status of Malay as the national language, the historical use of language by the people in Borneo, the Rukun Negara (National Philosophy), the letter and spirit behind certain relevant provisions in the Federal Constitution, the rule of law against the arbitrary dictates of the Home Minister, human rights and the democratization of government.

“I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that some people in this country want to even disallow worship in Malay by religions other than Islam,” cried Dompok.

“How can that be? Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) does not belong to the Malays – an umbrella term in Malaysia for various ethnic groups – alone. This is the language of all Malaysians. It’s your language and my language.

“So, I feel if there is continued objection to us using the Malay language in worship, then perhaps it’s time for us to look for a new national language so that there would not be ‘confusion’ among Malaysians.”

Malay is the country’s national language, is the main medium of instruction, has a place in the Federal Constitution and is the lingua franca among the great majority of the Christian population as well.

Confused and weakened?

The Malay word Tuhan was used for God until the coming of Islam to Southeast Asia from India about 500 years ago when Allah crept into popular usage but even now is used interchangeably with Tuhan.

Apparently, the Home Ministry has no problems with Christians using the word Tuhan for God when using the Malay language but this suggestion has been rejected outright by the faithful who want to defend their right to use the national language unhindered.

In Brunei, the Sultan is still referred to by one of his titles as Seri Begawan (Begawan being the Hindu term for God) and this is also reflected in the name of the capital city, Bandar Seri Begawan, formerly Brunei Town.

the herald The Home Ministry ostensibly fears that since the al-Quran is almost wholly a re-affirmation of the Old Testament and the Bible, Muslims may “become confused and weakened in their faith” if Christians use the word Allah for God when praying, preaching, writing or speaking in the Malay language even if among themselves.

Christian and other non-Muslim groups charge that “not enough credit is being to the Malays for their intelligence”.

Malays, as defined by the Federal Constitution, are not allowed by law to profess any other religion, besides Islam.

Malays must also not be seen as “going against Islam”, and this factor alone has often sorely tested the faith of practicing Muslim members of the judiciary in the past on matters involving faith and sowed widespread public dissatisfaction over court rulings especially on matters that brought the syariah (path of God or Islamic law) into conflict with civil law, secularism and the Federal Constitution.