PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim is wrong when he said the High Court ruling that allows non-Muslims to use the word “Allah” and three other words in the religious context only applies to Sarawak, Ba’Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian said.

Baru, a senior practising lawyer, said the prime minister has no basis for saying that as it is inaccurate in law.

“The judgment of the High Court applies throughout the whole of Malaysia,” he said.

The Sarawak lawmaker also said the prime minister had not only contradicted the statement made by Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in his media conference yesterday but also confused the people by “making inaccurate assumptions or conclusions on the legal effect of the withdrawal of the appeal”.

“If the prime minister goes on a case by case, then he is implying that each state law can prohibit non-Muslims from using certain words, which means restricting religious freedom,” he said.

Baru said when High Court judge Nor Bee Ariffin – now Court of Appeal judge – in her ruling wrote that “religious freedom is absolutely protected even in times of threat to public order…”, and she did not limit that statement to only Sarawak.

“The Federal Constitution does not discriminate among the people of different races or states,” he said.

“As the head of the unity government, the prime minister must not shy away from speaking the facts, especially where the rights of the minority are at risk of being eroded and curtailed.”

The federal government on April 18 filed a notice to withdraw its appeal to prevent non-Muslims from using the word “Allah” to describe God.

Baru said “the source of all the problems” is the 1986 administrative directive by the Home Ministry banning the use of certain words by non-Muslims.

The present case, he said, basically was a challenge to the legality of that directive.

Yesterday, Baru pointed out that in her judgment, Nor Bee had said the Home Ministry had exceeded its powers with the order, and that such a prohibition was against the constitution.

He said Nor Bee had not made any distinction between Sarawak and the other states in Peninsular Malaysia in the judgment.

“By withdrawing the appeal, the attorney-general and the government are effectively accepting the decision of the judge in its entirety, thereby acknowledging that the 1986 directive is invalid,” he said.

“The home minister understands this, as evidenced by yesterday’s video clip of his press conference on the matter.

“He is very clear on this, stating that the Home Ministry can no longer enforce that directive pursuant to the PPPA,” Baru said, alluding to the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, which the federal government used to ban the usage of the words. – May 17, 2023.