The Malaysian government faces a “herculean” task in prohibiting the use of the word “Allah” in Christian worship, says Bernard Dompok, president of a Sabah-based political party.

Dompok, speaking at the Nov. 8 national congress of the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO), said the Malay-speaking Christian community, particularly in the eastern Sabah and Sarawak states, has been using the Arabic word for God for a long time. The government has confiscated 15,000 bibles in the Malay language because they use the word “Allah.”

“Today, some of the Christian churches who have brought in bibles from Indonesia are still waiting for [them] to be released,” said Dompok, who is a Catholic. “There are two court cases waiting to be heard with regard to the word ‘Allah.’ I take the view that these are unnecessary.”

“Allah” is routinely used for “God” in Bahasa Malaysia, the national language. The Christian Federation of Malaysia, which is fighting the ban, says it infringes the federal constitution.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak opened the congress, attended by more than 4,000 party supporters, including state and federal leaders. UPKO is one of 13 parties in the ruling coalition. Its members are mostly indigenous people of Sabah, comprising Christians and Muslims.