KUALA LUMPUR, May 5:
The High Court today dismissed an application by Sidang Injil Borneo
(SIB) for leave for a judicial review to challenge a Home Ministry order
prohibiting the import of Christian books containing the word “Allah”.
Justice Datuk Zaleha Yusof
ruled that the High Court was bound by the Court of Appeal’s decision
that the word ‘Allah’ is not an integral part of faith and practices of
Christianity, reported Bernama.
In her judgement, which was
read out by Senior Assistant Registrar N. Arun in chambers, Zaleha said
the court had no choice but to refer to the Court Of Appeal’s decision
in the case of the Home Ministry against the Roman Catholic Church
involving a prohibition on the use of the word “Allah” in its ‘Herald’
weekly publication.
“So, although the decision,
was particular to the weekly Herald, all the learned judges held that
the word “Allah” is not an integral part of faith and practices of
Christianity and, therefore, the prohibition by the minister is not
unconstitutional.
“As long the decision stands,
the doctrine of ‘stare decisis’ (precedent), this court is bound by the
decision of the superior court,” she said.
She said the court dismissed the application with no order as to costs.
On Dec 10, 2007, SIB and its
president, Rev Jerry W. A. Dusing alias Jerry W. Patel, filed a leave
application for a judicial review against the Home Ministry and the
government to challenge the Customs Department’s seizure of its books
brought in from Surabaya, Indonesia, at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in
Sepang on Aug 15, 2007.
The books were, however, returned to the church on Jan 25, 2008.
They had sought a declaration
that they had the constitutional right to use the word “Allah” in all
their religious publications and practices, and not just within the
church.
Lawyer Lim Heng Seng represented the church and Dusing while senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan acted for the government.
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