MANAGE THE USE AND POTENTIAL MISINTERPRETATION OF "ALLAH" - FORMER SABAH CM

Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal

16 Mar 2021

KOTA KINABALU: Proper management in using the 'Allah' term is the way to go to prevent potential misinterpretation among Malaysians, former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal asserted.

In a Facebook Live session last night, he said the Arabic word "God" should not be exclusive to Muslims only.

He stated that high tolerance and mutual understanding with one another is needed in this matter instead of going for the extreme that is only breaking the unity among the people.

"Why should it be exclusive to only one group when we believe that Allah is the Almighty of all beings in Islam?

"Why are we not confident in others using the term if we believe that Allah is the God of all people?" he lamented, adding that the matter was discussed with the federal cabinet during his time where Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Malaysia's first ambassador to the Vatican City was present.

According to Shafie who is also the president of Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan), potential abused and confusion in religious sensitivity should be managed.

"As an example, you let people own guns but not to shoot others, or knives to cut meat, but not to injure. You do not take their guns or knives away,” he said.

Citing another instance, he pointed out that churches should not be named "Allah" to avoid confusion among Muslims.

On March 10, the High Court ruled that the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims is allowed, however soon after UMNO and PAS were reported to have pressured the federal government to appeal the decision.

The word, along with "Baitullah", "Kaabah" and "Solat" were banned for non-Muslims as per a Cabinet decision in 1998.

This follows Court of Appeal Justice Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin, sitting as the High Court judge, in allowing the judicial review by Sarawak Melanau clerk Jill Ireland, and ruling that the directive by the Home Ministry not to allow the use of the four prohibited words is filled with illegality and irrationality.

Ireland was challenging a ban on the use of the word Allah, which resulted in eight CD items she brought in from Indonesia 13 years ago to be confiscated as they bore those words.