Which law did the Malaysian government use to ban non-muslims from using the word 'Allah'?

(protests and bombing)

(issue is allah, lawsuit was the allah)

‘The Kalimah Allah Issue’ happened in Malaysia during the year 2009. If we were to recall how it began, it was because a Catholic newspaper called the Herald was banned by the Home Ministry from publishing the word 'Allah'. In turn, the publication sued the ministry.

While it may look like the issue was about whether non-muslims could use the word "Allah", at its core it was actually about the law that allowed the Home Ministry to issue the ban in the first place. 

The Home Ministry Has The Power to Grant Publishing Licences

The Home Ministry didn’t just send a formal letter to the Herald telling them to stop using the word ‘Allah’. The ban actually came through their publishing and printing licence.

You see, in Malaysia whenever a body like the Herald wants to publish or print something, they must get a licence from the Home Ministry. And the Home Ministry has full discretion as to whether they want to grant the licence or not. According to Section 6 (1)(a) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA):

In addition to granting the licence, the same Act also says that the Home Ministry can impose any condition they want to the licence. If we look at Section 12, it says:

It was this section that the Home Ministry relied on when they imposed the ban on the Herald from using the word ‘Allah’. And it was also the exercise of the Home Minister’s power under Section 12 that was challenged by the Herald. The Herald basically said that although Section 12 says the Home Ministry can impose any conditions they want on a publishing licence, the Home Ministry’s condition to them was unreasonable.

The Home Ministry argued that the ban was imposed for national security

Despite the law seeming to give the Home Ministry wide powers to make a decision, that doesn’t mean the Home Ministry can simply make any decision. Their decision must be legal, if not the Home Ministry can be challenged in court. It’s like when your friend goes on holiday and leave you in charge of his house, that doesn’t mean you rearrange his furniture – and if you do, you better have good reasons for it. 

[READ MORE: How to take the Malaysian government to court if they mess up]

So when the Herald said that the Home Ministry’s ban was unreasonable, they replied saying that they came to their decision for national security. Their contention was that, the use of the word ‘Allah’ by the Herald could affect public order:

When the case was brought to the Court of Appeal, the judges actually agreed with the Home Ministry. They further said that while a Minister’s decision for national security could be challenged in court, the court usually won’t interfere too much:

Basically it was said that the court won’t interfere much in national security decisions because that’s not their job, but the Home Minister’s job. They went on to further add that while the Home Minister may not be answerable to the courts, they’re answerable to Parliament - where the other MPs can question the decision of the Minister. 

These type of laws exist because Parliament can’t regulate everything

Laws that gives wide ranging powers to the government can be dangerous because it may be open to abuse. But at the same time Parliament can’t make laws on everything, that’s why certain things are left to a Minister to decide on.

But like the ‘Kalimah Allah Issue’ has shown, you can challenge those decisions in court. Which basically means that the there’s always a check on a government’s exercise of power.