Sarawakian Christian Jill Ireland will get back her eight compact discs (CDs) tomorrow, seven years after they were seized because they contained the word “Allah”.
Her lawyer Annou Xavier said he received a letter from the Home Ministry (Control of Publications and Al-Quran Text division) today informing him that his client could take possession of the CDs tomorrow during office hours.
Annou said the CDs would be collected from the Ministry’s branch at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
“Either my client or her pastor will be going to collect them,” he said, referring to Sidang Injil Borneo church Pastor Alfred Tais.
On August 12, Annou issued a terse reminder to the ministry to respect a court order compelling it to return the CDs.
The lawyer said he had written a letter to the Attorney-General’s Chambers in July, a day before the expiry of the 30-day deadline to return the CDs but did not receive a reply.
On June 23 this year, a three-man Court of Appeal bench chaired by Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, ruled that the exhibits that were seized in 2008 be returned to Ireland as provisions in the Printing, Presses and Publications Act were not followed.
The bench also ordered that a new High Court judge hear her application whether she had the right to use the word “Allah ” in her religious practices.
Putrajaya seized the CDs from Ireland at the then Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang. The Sarawakian said she brought the CDs into Malaysia for her personal use.
Last year, High Court judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof ordered the ministry to return the CDs to Ireland, who brought them from Indonesia.
Putrajaya then appealed against that order and managed to obtain a stay to retain them on grounds of public interest.
The CDs, which Ireland bought in Indonesia for personal use, had titles such as “Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Hidup Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah” and “Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah”.
In seeking a judicial review against the seizure, she also asked for a declaration, saying that she had legitimate expectation to exercise the right to use “Allah” and to continue to own and import such materials.
Ireland’s legal team argued that the case was not about Christianity against Islam, but about her constitutional right as a Bumiputera Christian.
Constitutional lawyers said Ireland’s cross-appeal could be used to revisit unresolved problems that could not be argued in the case involving Catholic publication Herald.
That case came to an end on January 21, after the Federal Court dismissed a review application by the Catholic Church to use the word “Allah” in its weekly newsletter.
The word “Allah” is widely used by Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, as well as in Indonesia, and the church argued that the ban on its use was a violation of freedom of religion. – September 9, 2015
– See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/allah-cds-to-be-returned-to-jill-ireland-tomorrow#sthash.0jgwCnpu.dpuf