SIB church appeal: Counsel to submit arguments

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal wants counsel in the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church case to submit further arguments on whether the Federal Territory Islamic Council’s (Maiwp) intervention in the church’s matter would affect the Attorney-General’s (AG) role as a guardian of public interest.

Justice Hamid Sultan Abu Backer, who chaired the three-member bench, requested counsel Lim Heng Seng and the church’s president, Reverend Jerry W A Dusing @ Jerry W Patel, and Maiwp’s lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla to research the issue and submit their respective additional submissions to the court by Aug 12.

SIB church is appealing against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision on Feb 23 this year to allow Maiwp to intervene in a judicial review action brought by the church over its right to use the word “Allah” in its religious publications and practices.

Justice Hamid Sultan questioned whether Maiwp, in intervening in the case, would take away the rights of the AG as a guardian of public interest, adding that his role must be clarified.

The other two judges on the panel were Justice Zamani A Rahim and Zaleha Yusof.

Justice Hamid Sultan also said the court would inform counsel if they needed further clarification on the issue and if the court was ready with its decision in the appeal, it would also inform counsel of the decision date.

The panel had earlier received submissions from the counsel on other issues in the appeal.

Lim had argued that the High Court erred in facts and in law when it made a finding that Maiwp had a direct interest and was a proper body to intervene in the matter.

He said Maiwp should not be allowed to become an intervener in the case although it could appear as amicus curiae (friend of the court).

However, Mohamed Haniff Khatri contended that Maiwp was a corporate body and not directly related to the Federal Government or state government.

The SIB church and Jerry, in their application seeking leave for a judicial review, had named the Home Ministry and the government as respondents.

They had challenged the Customs Department’s seizure of its books brought in from Surabaya, Indonesia, at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang on Aug 15, 2007.

The books were returned to the church on Jan 25, 2008.

On Oct 1, 2014, the Court of Appeal gave the nod to the church to initiate a judicial review application over the right to use the word “Allah” in all its religious publications and materials.

They had sought a declaration that they had the constitutional right to use the word “Allah” in all their religious publications and practices and not just within the church.