Malaysian authorities are to allow a Catholic paper to continue to print, after earlier threatening to revoke its license in a row over the word "Allah," a church leader said yesterday.
Augustine Julian, secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, said a new license had been granted to the weekly, which would continue to use the term.
"The letter to allow the Herald to be printed was hand-delivered by internal security officials Sunday," he said.
"They have allowed us to publish the weekly as usual. All four sections -- in English, Malay, Tamil and Chinese -- will be published. I suppose if they give us the printing permit we can continue to use the word `Allah,'" he said.
Julian said no reasons were given for the extension but suggested the government would not want to alienate Malaysia's two million Christians ahead of general elections.
The Herald, a tabloid-sized newspaper, is circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics with articles written in English, Chinese, Tamil and Malay.
A junior minister had earlier warned its printing permit, due to expire today, would not be renewed if it continued using the Malay word for "Allah," which the government says can only be used by Muslims.
Mohamad Johari Baharum, junior minister in the internal security ministry, said that the Herald would receive a new permit only if it stopped using words that are used in Islam.
"If they want the printing permit to be renewed, they have to comply with the requirements of the ministry. This is to prevent uneasiness among the majority Muslim Malaysians," he said.
"They have to drop the use of the words `Allah' [God], `Baitullah' [House of God], `Solat' [prayer] and `Kaabah' [The Sacred House] in the Malay language section of the newspaper," Mohamad Johari said.
Mohamad Johari said the government decision was final as it was a "sensitive matter" and was aimed to avoid confusion.
Malaysian commentators have sounded alarm over the growing "Islamisation" of the country and the increasing polarization of the three main ethnic communities, which mix much less than in the past.
Christians say they have long used the word "Allah" without problems, although the internal security minister had warned them since the late 1980s not to use the four terms.
Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.
The publisher of the Herald and a church group in Sabah state on Borneo island filed a legal suit against the government for banning them from using the word "Allah."
Bernard Dompok, minister in the prime minister's department, said that he had spoken to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over the problems faced by Catholics.
"Only in Malaysia, the Muslims claim exclusive rights to the word `Allah'. I am confident the Herald's permit will be renewed and it will be allowed to publish in all the four languages," he said.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
RSS