Herald: Jan 21 hearing for church’s review application

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court here yesterday set January 21, next year to hear the Catholic Church’s application to review the Federal Court decision which denied the church leave to appeal over the Home Minister’s ban on the use of the word “Allah” in its weekly publication, Herald.

Federal Court deputy Registrar Nor Aziati Jaafar fixed the date during a case management of the matter in chambers today.

Senior federal counsel Andi Razalijaya A. Dadi, representing the Home Ministry and the government, said the court had instructed all the respondents (the Home Ministry and interveners comprising six state religious councils and the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association [MCMA]) to file their respective affidavit-in-reply to the church’s review application by December 8, this year.

He also said the applicant, being the church, and the respondents

Penang PAS treasurer files leave to challenge dismissal

KEPALA BATAS: Penang PAS treasurer Iszuree Ibrahim has challenged the state exco council and Penang municipal council (MPPP)’s decision to dismiss him and freeze his allocation.

He filed the application for leave to do so at the Penang High Court on November 14, through his lawyer Mohd Harris Abdullah.

He named the state exco council as first respondent, and the MPPP and state government as second and third respondent respectively. were also required to file their written submissions by January 7, next year.

Lawyer James Lopez appeared for the church while lawyer Tajuddin Razak represented the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (MCMA) and he also mentioned on behalf of the lawyers for the Terengganu state Islamic religious council.

Lawyer Mohd Fasha Mustafa appeared for the Federal Territory Islamic religious council and the Selangor state Islamic council and had also mentioned on behalf of the lawyer for the Melaka and Johor state councils.

On September 19, this year, the Catholic Church filed a review application against the June 23, 2014 majority judgment of the seven-member Federal Court in dismissing the church’s application for leave to proceed its appeal to the Federal Court.

The application was based on three broad grounds including certain legal issues which were central to the leave application relating to the scope of Article 3 and Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

The church had sought leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision delivered on October 14, last year which allowed the government’s appeal to overturn the 2009 High Court’s decision that Herald could use the word “Allah”.

On December 31, 2009, the High Court declared that the decision by the Home Ministry in banning the Herald from using the word Allah was illegal, null and void.

The Roman Catholic Church, which was then led by Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam, had filed a judicial review application in 2009 naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents, seeking, among others, a declaration that the ministry’s decision to prohibit the use of the word Allah in the Herald publication was illegal. – Bernama