'Allah' Case: Court to hear Church suit on Oct 14

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here will hear on Oct 14 the Catholic Church’s bid to prevent several Islamic bodies from interfering in its ongoing suit against the home minister’s ban on the use of the word “Allah” in its newspaper.

Judge Lau Bee Lan made the decision in chambers today.

Lawyer for the church, Porres Royan, told reporters that the church had filed an application at the High Court here to recall and set aside its earlier decision allowing some 10 state Islamic Councils as well as the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (Macma) to intervene in the case.

Judge Lau had on August 3 ruled that the state Islamic councils could intervene in the church’s suit against the home minister on the basis that their legal rights as advisers to the rulers, who sit as heads of Islam in their respective states, would be gravely affected by any decision taken by the court.

But Royan said the Federal Court, headed by Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi, had on Sept 3 ruled to bar the Selangor Islamic Council (Mais) from entering as an interested party in a dispute between the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and Bong Boon Chuen, together with 150 landowners, over Islamic burial land in neighbouring Selangor.

The top court’s most recent decision in Bong’s case sets an example for the High Court here to keep interveners out.

Lawyer for Mais, Abdul Rahim Sinwan, said the state Islamic councils would challenge the church’s second bid to remove them from intervening in the “Allah” case.

He pointed out that the Federal Court had made two conflicting rulings on whether or not interveners could be allowed in.

Abdul Rahim noted that the Federal Court had ruled to allow bodies to intervene in an earlier case.

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