Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has appealed to fellow Muslims to remain calm as 13 non-governmental organisations protested against the use of the word 'Allah' in a Catholic weekly, the Herald.

The issue needed to be 'handled wisely', Razak said Sunday.

His government has decided to appeal against a high court verdict that permits the weekly to use the word on its masthead.

'We understand and care about the feelings of the Muslims. This is an extremely sensitive issue and it touches the hearts of all Muslims.

'There has been an outpouring of emotions and reactions since the decision by the court but I hope we can remain calm and let the court of appeal and the federal court make the decision,' New Straits Times quoted him as saying Monday.

The Catholic church says it is using the word only to signify piety and has gone to court.

The Muslim NGOs in this Muslim-majority nation contend that 'Allah' was generally used by Muslims to describe Him exclusively.

The NGOs that participated in Sunday's protest include Majlis Permuafakatan Ummah, Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa and Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress.

Malaysia is a multi religious society and has Islam as the official religion for the majority population. It has significant population of Chinese and Indians who practise Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism.