Jom Ziarah church visit tomorrow off after uproar

KUALA LUMPUR – An Impact Malaysia programme scheduled for tomorrow at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang, aimed at providing educational exposure to youth about Christianity, has been called off amid controversy surrounding the initiative.

This was separately confirmed to The Vibes by Impact Malaysia CEO Ahmed Faris Amir and a member of the church.

It is understood the church’s parish priest Reverend Father Gregory Chan will also issue a statement on the matter soon.

The cancellation comes hot on the heels of criticism from certain quarters being levelled at the Projek Artikel 11 Jom Ziarah programme.

The initiative aims to foster better understanding and tolerance of different religions among Malaysian youth through visiting houses of worship. 

Critics have been playing up the issue and accusing the organiser, Impact Malaysia, an agency affiliated with the Youth and Sports Ministry, of proselytising Christianity to Muslim youth. 

Impact Malaysia has since denied that it was running a “Christian evangelist” programme.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh had also clarified in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, during her Budget 2023 winding-up speech in Parliament, that the initiative does not include any Muslim participants.

She said her ministry will also no longer conduct programmes that overlap with other government ministries. 

The Vibes also sighted an internal circular issued by Yeoh dated March 15 to the heads of departments and agencies under her ministry informing of this decision. 

For instance, she said all youth unity programmes will instead be implemented by either the National Unity Ministry or Malaysian Islamic Development Department, while youth entrepreneurship programmes will be handled by the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Ministry. 

Yeoh instructed for this realignment to be done immediately. 

It is understood that the Jom Ziarah programme also involves a visit to an Hindu temple on Sunday. However, it is unclear if this visit has been cancelled.

The issue surrounding the church visit first caught attention after Impact Malaysia shared a poster informing about the planned Projek Artikel 11 Jom Ziarah programme to be held tomorrow at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. 

The poster, which has since been taken down on Impact Malaysia’s social media accounts, said the event is open to all non-Christians. 

“Never entered a church before? Want to know more about Christians? Want to learn about the similarities and differences between religions? Jom ziarah gereja! (Let’s visit church). 

“Projek Artikel 11 exposes the youth to different religions through visiting and volunteering activities – for a more inclusive Malaysia.”

Prior to this, Impact Malaysia had already conducted similar programmes at Federal Territory Mosque on March 4 and Gurdwara Sahib Guru Nanak in Shah Alam on March 11, both of which involved only non-Muslim participants. 

Yesterday, Bersatu leader Badrul Hisham Shaharin, more popularly known as Chegubard, lodged a police report against Yeoh, accusing her of proselytising Christianity to Muslim youth through the programme linked to her ministry. – The Vibes, March 17, 2023