Ruling a New Year gift for Christian community

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 2 (The Borneo Post) -- Secretary General Henrynus Amin hailed the High Court ruling allowing the use of the term 'Allah' in the Catholic Herald publication as a New Year gift for the entire Christian community in Malaysia and a victory for 1Malaysia concept espoused by the Prime Minister.

Henrynus who is a former PBS Member of Parliament, in a statement yesterday urged all Malaysians to accept the decision with an open heart for the sake of national unity, peace and stability in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia.

He said the court decision is not only constitutionallu correct but politically necessary to reflect and reinforce the people's fundamental rights to democratic values and religious freedom as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

The latest development in the case is a welcome relief for the indigenous Christian community, especially Sabah and Sarawak, where they constitute a large portion of the local population, and who regularly use the Bahasa Malaysia Bible in their daily prayers and worships, he pointed out.

"Indigenous Christians in Sabah and Sarawak have been waiting for the High Court decision with an anxious mind and the decision yesterday in their favor no doubt augurs well for Barisan Nasional in the next general election.

"If the total ban on the use of 'Allah' in Christian publications or prayer and worship were to be upheld and continued, it would have been a major propaganda setback for the Barisan Nasional in Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

Henrynus added the High Court decision reinforced public confidence in the Malaysian legal system where aggrieved parties or individuals can seek legal redress for the legitimate grievance through the court of law.

He commended the Christian community for their patience and confidence in the legal system, and their steadfast efforts and prayers were rewarded and undoubtedly recognisized by the Malaysian court of law.

According to him, the people of Sabah and Sarawak have more or less accepted the 1Malaysia approach to development, especially the promise of freedom of worship, economic equality, fundamental liberties, peace, stability and prosperity.

Contrary to rather unfair criticism by critics, he said the real intention of the Christian community through the Catholic Herald or the SIB church to bring up the issue on the use of 'Allah' in Christian publications or their regular prayer and worship was solely to seek the proper court interpretation.