Meeting with Selangor sultan not on 'Allah' appeal withdrawal, says Anwar

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today said the government's decision to withdraw the appeal in the case of Jill Ireland against the home ministry and the government an the Court of Appeal was referred to the Council of Rulers.

Anwar, who is also the Tambun MP, said he had discussed a different matter with the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah recently, although it is also related to the "Allah" issue.

He added that the discussion with the sultan was on amendments to the home ministry policies and regulations in establishing rules for the import of prohibited goods.

"What I discussed with the Sultan of Selangor was not about the old decision (withdrawal of 'Allah' appeal)," he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

"The Sultan of Selangor, in his statement, mentioned reaffirmation of the Cabinet's stance that the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims in the peninsula is prohibited, with restrictions for those in Sabah and Sarawak.

"Since there is an amendment, the Sultan of Selangor suggested that it be brought first to the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs and then to the Council of Rulers."

Earlier, Perikatan Nasional's Tanjong Karang MP Zulkafperi Hanapi raised Standing Order 36(12) and demanded that Anwar be referred to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee for allegedly making contradictory statements.

Zulkafperi referred to Anwar's statement at the Dewan Rakyat on May 23, denying the allegation that the government did not refer to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong before withdrawing its appeal on the High Court's decision concerning the use of the word "Allah".

On May 15, the home ministry and the government withdrew the appeal against the decision of the Kuala Lumpur High Court, which ruled that Christians can use the word "Allah" and three other Arabic words in their religious publications for educational purposes.

The notice of termination of the judicial review appeal filed on April 18 stated that both appellants did not wish to proceed with the appeal submitted on March 12 and dismissed the entire appeal at the Court of Appeal without an order as to costs.