KUALA LUMPUR – It appears the organisation of the Jom Ziarah Gereja programme under the purview of the Youth and Sports Ministry, which has since been called off amid public brickbats, flew under the radar of its minister Hannah Yeoh.
This is according to sacked Umno member Khairy Jamaluddin, who said the matter was related to him by Yeoh herself during their encounter at a programme at Bukit Jalil National Stadium last weekend.
Khairy, himself a former youth and sports minister, said he had asked the DAP lawmaker why she is being targeted over the initiative, despite her already explaining in Parliament that it would not involve any Muslim youth.
“I believe what she said, that she did not know about the programme,” he said during a “Keluar Sekejap” podcast session with former Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan.
“I was once a youth and sports minister 10 years ago, like Yeoh. I wouldn’t have known every single small programme organised by every agency under me. And I believe her, she didn’t even really know this programme was going on.
“I believe this because I understand the programme only involves a small group. It wouldn’t be under the minister’s attention.”
When contacted for comment, an aide to Yeoh said the minister would not be commenting on the matter as it is currently under police investigation.
Khairy said it was unfortunate that the issue was blown out of proportion in spite of the fact that Yeoh had never promoted the programme.
“It has become an issue to the point where she has moved the programme to the National Unity Ministry, because she doesn’t want to have anything to do with it, to avoid overlaps and whatnot.
“In this regard, I feel the accusations against her are unfair, and I believe the intention of Impact Malaysia (the event organiser) to increase the awareness of other religions is good.”
Previously, opposition members and supporters had played up the issue surrounding the Jom Ziarah Gereja initiative and accused Impact Malaysia and Yeoh of proselytising Christianity to Muslim youth.
The organiser subsequently called off the programme, which was initially scheduled to be held at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang last Saturday, amid the uproar.
Impact Malaysia had also denied that it was running a “Christian evangelism” programme, while Yeoh had clarified in the Dewan Rakyat last week that the initiative did not include any Muslim participants.
Meanwhile, Khairy said he supports the call by former religious minister Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri for proper guidelines to be issued regarding visits to houses of worship of other religions.
“For example, if we are invited by our best friend who is a Christian to attend his wedding in a church, we can’t say no, can we?
“But if we go, we may never have been (to a church) and are worried. Since there are no guidelines, (we won’t know) what we are allowed to do, when we can stand, or if we are allowed to pray with them.
“These things may be obvious to some, but those who have never entered a church may be worried. So, I think this approach is most practical.” – The Vibes, March 23, 2023
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