KUALA LUMPUR: The Court of Appeal removed the Federal Territory Islamic Council (MAIWP) from Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB)’s legal action over the church's right to use the word "Allah" in its religious publications.
A three-man bench chaired by Datuk Hamid Sultan Abu Backer today allowed SIB's appeal against MAIWP's entry into the church's judicial review application.
Previously on Feb 23, the High Court here allowed MAIWP to become a co-respondent alongside the home ministry and the government, in the judicial review bid by SIB and its president, Reverend Datuk Jerry W.A. Dusing.
MAIWP's counsel, Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who confirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision when contacted, said that the bench ruled that the ministry and government were already sufficiently represented by the Attorney-General's Chambers, who is the guardian of public interest.
Haniff said the bench ruled that MAIWP did not show that it had direct interest in the SIB matter, as it has no rights over non-Muslims.
"However, MAIWP was allowed to be amicus curiae," said Haniff, explaining that this means the religious authority could be present during proceedings to assist the High Court in queries over the case.
He said that he will consult with his client on whether to appeal the verdict.
SIB's judicial review application would come up for case management at the High Court on Oct 10.
In August 2007, the Customs Department confiscated Christian books imported by SIB from Indonesia at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang, Selangor.
Earlier on Oct 24, the government ordered SIB to stop importing children's religious books under six titles and deemed the books offensive because they contained four words used in Islam: "Allah", "Baitullah", "Solat" and "Kaabah".
On Dec 10 the same year, SIB and Dusing filed their judicial review application to quash the government's decision to seize the books.
The books were returned to SIB on Jan 25, 2008, and the church and Dusing had since withdrawn a portion of their application, which was to quash the confiscation decision.
However, they still seek several declarations, including declaratory orders that SIB's congregation - a majority of whom are Bahasa Malaysia-speaking natives - is entitled to own, possess, use and import materials, notwithstanding the use of the word Allah in those publications.
They also sought a declaration that the government's ban on the use of the four words was unconstitutional.