“Religious identity is slowly coming into the politics of Sarawak. This is more so in the post-discussion on the Allah issue. Many Sarawakians are uncomfortable with the decision.” – Bridget Welsh
A judiciary that remains infamously compliant to the National Front government on 14 October 2013 effectively outlawed the free practice of Christianity in Malaysia. The politically driven judgment that day by Malaysia’s Court of Appeal has banned non-Muslims from using the word ‘Allah’ in Malay-language publications. East Malaysians in particular, who have long used the term ‘Allah’ in their Malay language-based practice of Christianity, and who already face the pressures of forced Islamisation, are now banned from bringing their Bibles with them to West Malaysia. Malaysia is in danger of declining from an enlightened democracy into a primitive place run by aggressive zealots.