KUALA LUMPUR: Umno ministers will be raising the issue of the use of the word "Allah" by Christians, at the weekly Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
Umno information chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said that the issue must be discussed and handled carefully, as the government continued to be on the receiving end for withdrawing its appeal over the High Court's ruling.
She stressed that the issue of the use of the word "Allah" should be handled carefully as it involved religious sensitivity, religious freedom, and harmony between people of multiple races in Malaysia.
"In this matter, more in-depth research is needed to deal with this issue fairly and equitably to all parties involved.
"A comprehensive solution needs to be discussed and achieved including a strong legal approach that includes referral of this matter to the Federal Court, apart from the non-legal approaches.
"Umno will continue to fight and defend Islam as the Federal Religion and respect the principle of religious freedom as enshrined in the federal constitution," she said in a statement today.
The government withdrew its appeal over the High Court's ruling which allows non-Muslims to use the word Allah and three other words for teaching purposes. The other words are kaabah, solat and baitullah.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the move to withdraw the appeal was following the discovery of a contradiction between a 1986 cabinet decision and the Home Ministry's administrative order the same year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the use of the word "Allah" by Christians for the publication of religious materials for educational purposes is only limited to Sarawak.