Malaysian Catholics win right to challenge 'Allah' ban: lawyer

Malaysian Catholics on Monday won the right to mount a legal battle against a government ban on the use of the word "Allah" as a translation for "God" in their main publication.

The Muslim-dominated government last year declared that the word could only be used by Muslims and threatened to close down The Herald newspaper if it defied the prohibition.

The newspaper, which features articles written in English, Chinese, Tamil and Malay, is circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics. In January it nearly lost its publishing licence after using "Allah" in its Malay section.

Authorities warned The Herald not to print the word in future, but instead it is asking the High Court to revoke the ban and make a declaration that its use is legal.

High Court judge Lau Bee Lan on Monday overruled objections by the state's counsel to the case going ahead, saying they were "without merit and therefore dismissed."

"The issues should be determined in the next stage," she said.

Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of The Herald, welcomed the decision which paves the way for a judicial review of the government ban.

"I am very pleased that we can now proceed. We will see what will happen at the next stage," he told reporters.

The church's lawyer Porres Ryan said they would soon submit an application to proceed with the case.

"The effect of the decision today is that our application is not frivolous and we can now proceed to address the issues at the review," he said.

Malaysia is dominated by Muslim Malays and the minority ethnic Chinese and Indians have become concerned over the growing "Islamisation" of the country.

In recent months there have been controversies over a ban on the construction of a Taoist statue on Borneo island and the destruction of Hindu temples by local authorities.

AFP