The statement is seen as directly contradicting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's assurance that Christians in East Malaysia were free to use the word.
Ahmad Zahid pointed out that the recent Court of Appeal ruling prohibiting the word Allah in Herald's Bahasa Malaysia section was justified.
He however said the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia translation of the bible, can use Allah to describe God.
"The bible is technically not a publication. It can be used in the Al-Kitab, but not in the Herald,” Ahmad Zahid told reporters at his office here today after a meeting with a Cambodian minister.
“I don’t want to go beyond what has been decided by the Court of Appeal."
Following the Court of Appeal decision on October 14, which banned the word in the Bahasa Malaysia section of the Herald, Najib had assured East Malaysians that the word can be used in Sabah and Sarawak.
Several ministers had also said that the 10-point solution issued by Putrajaya in 2011, which allowed the printing, importation and distribution of the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Christian bible containing the word “Allah”, should stand.
But on Thursday, the Home Ministry stopped the distribution of the Herald in Sabah after a consignment of 2,000 copies arrived at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
This decision was criticised by lawmakers in Sabah and Sarawak while the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM), said the move was a violation of the church's rights.
The home ministry, however, in its Facebook posting today defending the move, said that only 53 copies of the latest issue were seized to check if it contained the word Allah, in line with the Court of Appeal ruling on October 14.
“However, the copies were released for circulation today after the inspection found that the word Allah was not used in this issue," the ministry added in the Facebook page.
Thursday’s incident is the latest in the controversial tussle between the Catholic Church and the government over the use of the word Allah.
Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal ruled that the home ministry’s decision to ban the use of the word in the Herald was justified, as it was not integral to the Christian faith.
The Cabinet, through Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala, had stated in the 10-point resolution that the large Bumiputera Christian population in Sabah and Sarawak could use their holy books in the Malay, Indonesian, and indigenous languages.
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