Malaysia's police chief warns against street protests on 'Allah' issue
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian police chief Abdul Hamid Bador on Friday (March 12) warned against organising street protests following a court decision on the “Allah” issue.
He said this after Umno supreme council member Razlan Rafii remarked that Muslims were ready to go to the streets if the government does not file an appeal against Wednesday’s High Court ruling on the use of the “Allah” word by Christians in Malaysia.
“Muslims are ready to go to the streets to ‘teach’ this government if the government fails to act. Muslims are ready to take to the streets to protect this sacred word,” Mr Razlan was quoted as telling Malayskini news site on Thursday.
Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today news site: “If we do not respect the court’s decision, our country will be destroyed. We must remember that the court is free to come to a decision in line with the (federal) Constitution.
“We cannot expect the court to rule according to our whims and fancies as it would be unfair. If you are not satisfied with the decision, file an appeal or raise the matter in Parliament.
“Don’t take to the streets.”
High Court Justice Nor Bee Ariffin on Wednesday affirmed the constitutional right of Ms Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, a Sarawakian Christian, to use the word “Allah” for her religious practice, some 13 years after the latter first filed a legal challenge on the matter.
The ruling quashed a three-decade government ban on Christians using the word “Allah” in their religious publications.
The court also allowed three words to be used in Christian publications for educational purposes: Kaabah (Islam’s holiest shrine in Mecca), Baitullah (House of God) and solat (prayer).
Malaysia’s two biggest Malay-Muslim parties, Umno and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), have asked the government to appeal against the court’s decision.
“We want the government to appeal the matter at the Court of Appeal,” Muafakat Nasional (MN) said in a statement after its monthly meeting on Thursday.
MN is an umbrella platform for political cooperation between Umno and PAS.
Both parties are also members of the governing Perikatan Nasional alliance, with Umno often at odds against the government, which is led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
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