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.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
RSS