KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN Catholics on Tuesday demanded the right to use the word 'Allah' in their publication after the Muslim dominated government prohibited using the Islamic word for God.

The Herald, a tabloid newspaper, is circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, with articles written in English, Chinese, Tamil and Malay.

It is pushing the High Court to revoke the ban and for a declaration allowing use of the word 'Allah'.

A defence lawyer told the Court that the word should not be exclusive to Muslims.

'The (publication) is using the court to declare whether it is right for the (government) to say only one community can use the word and no other communities can,' counsel Porres Ryan said.

In January, The Herald almost had its licence revoked over its use of the word in its Malay-language section. Authorities, however, warned the paper not to use 'Allah' in future.

The Malaysian Cabinet last year declared that the word could only be used by Muslims, with the internal security minister issuing a ban on its use in a non-Muslim context.

The Herald has defied the cabinet decision but Catholics say they fear the paper will not have its permit renewed later this year.

Mr Porres said the court ruling was important as it would allow followers of other religions to know whether they can use the word 'Allah'.

'The ruling by the court will be some sort of precedent on whether other religions can use the word too,' he said.

'I can't see how this order on not using the word Allah applies only to Catholics and I am sure it applies to other non-Muslim faiths in Malaysia,' Mr Porres later told reporters.

But senior federal counsel Azizah Nawawi objected to the need for such a declaration.

Judge Lau Bee Lan said she will decide on May 5 if the court would hear the publication's appeal.

Many Malaysians are concerned over the growing 'Islamisation' of the country.

In recent months, there have been controversies over the construction of the world's tallest Taoist Goddess of the Sea statue on Borneo island and the destruction of Hindu temples by local authorities. -- AFP