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Jan 1, 09 1:08pm
The Catholic newspaper has been ordered by the government to cease its Malay language edition until courts resolve a ban on the paper's use of the word "Allah", its editor said today.
Herald newspaper editor Father Lawrence Andrew said the move was part of a series of restrictions put in place by the government when it renewed the paper's licence on Tuesday.
The Herald, circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God", with authorities saying it should only be used by Muslims.
"The constitution says Malay is the national language so why can't we use the national language in Malaysia?" he told AFP.
He called the ban "unacceptable" and said he intended to take action.
Many Catholics are East M'sian bumis
Andrew (photo below) said the ban did not make any sense because a large proportion of Catholics in Malaysia are bumiputera who mainly speak Malay.
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"More than 50 percent of our congregation are bumiputera and two of our bishops are bumiputera," he added.
The issue will be decided by the courts next month, while Home Ministry officials told the New Straits Times daily today they will be monitoring the paper's actions closely.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY!
Where are all the UMNO goons that were crying out for BM to be respected now?
What are the Home Ministry trying to do by banning the Malay paper?
Can the Home Ministry be going against the country's constitution for not allowing the BM paper to be publish????
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