PETALING JAYA: 12 Mar-While the government is trying to hammer out an out-of-court settlement for the Allah word suit brought against it by the Sidang Injil Borneo Sabah, it faces another suit on Monday. This time from a Melanau native Bumiputra Christian from Sarawak.
The suit was filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court by Jill Ireland binti Lawrence Bill, 29, on 28 August 2008. Justice Alizatul Khair Bt Osman of the KL High Court granted her leave on 4 May 2009 to apply for an order of Judicial Review.
When the case came up for mention on 12 Jan 2010, it was postponed till this coming Monday. Senior public prosecutor Andi Razalijaya told reporters that high court judge, Justice Mohd Apandi Ali was busy with another case.
Jill Ireland is suing the Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and the Government of Malaysia. According to court filings, on 11 May 2008 Ireland flew back from Indonesia and embarked at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang
She had brought in about eight video compact discs containing religious materials for her personal use only.
The VCDs had the word ‘Allah” printed on them.The VCDs were detained for inspection by the Customs which later handed them over to the Home Ministry.
She later received a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs stating that the VCDs were confiscated as Jill Ireland had brought in the VCDs unlawfully and failed to pay customs duty. The reasons for the confiscation was that the religious materials were a threat to national security and had breached Jakim (Islamic Affairs Department) guidelines on the usage of prohibited words.
She claims in her affidavit that as a native Sarawakian, she uses the word “Allah” in her prayers, worship and religious education. She also prays using both the Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia Al Kitab which uses the word “Allah”.
She is also asking the court for an Order of Certiorari to quash the decision of the Ministry of Home Affairs in confiscating her VCDs as well as damages.
Jill Ireland now lives in Kuala Lumpur and is a member of the Sidang Injil Borneo Semenanjung Malaysia. Her case is supported by the church and represented by Messrs Lim Heng Seng and Annou Xavier.

(MySinchew)