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(The Star) - The Catholic Lawyers’ Society (CLS) of Kuala Lumpur has joined in the chorus of calls to the Home Ministry to withdraw its warning and show-cause letters unconditionally as well as maintain The Herald's publishing permit.
The reporting in The Herald was in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church in social and political charity, said its president Mabel Sabastian yesterday. “Ultimately, the interpretation of what constitutes religious matters should be left to the leaders and adherents of the faith. “The Home Ministry is not in a position to dictate to the Catholics (or for that mater, the proponents of any other faith) the scope o f their religion,” Sabastian said in a statement. “In seeking to control the contents of The Herald, the Home Ministry’s warning and show-cause letters go against Article 3 (1), Article 10(1)(a) and Article 11(3)(a) of the Federal Constitution, that is, the right to freely practise one’s religion, the general freedom of speech and expression and the right of a religious group to manage its own affairs. “Such controls will deprive the Catholic community of current information and education in relation to their faith. Such an act by the authorities is tantamount to curtailment of religious freedom.” The Herald is a weekly publication printed by the Catholic Church that is sold in churches and not by newsvendors. It has a circulation of 13,000 copies per week and a readership estimated at 50,000. On Saturday, the Christian Federation of Malaysia had called on the ministry to unconditionally withdraw the three show cause letters it issued to the publishers of The Herald.
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