KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh denied that her ministry's Jom Ziarah programme was trying to peddle other religions to Muslims.
Yeoh told Perikatan Nasional to stop turning her into their "punching bag" to draw attention away from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) which was facing problems.
"The project is not to give the impression that all religions are the same but it is to show and understand the diverse faith followed by Malaysians.
"So to slander me using the agency under the ministry for this intention is extreme and they are using me as a punching bag to divert attention from their leaders who are facing charges. I am not talking about Pas, but Bersatu," she told Parliament during her ministry's winding up speech at the committee level for the Supply Bill 2023 here today.
Yeoh said as the former Selangor assembly speaker, she was aware of the Federal Constitution prohibiting Christian evangelism.
"I am also a DAP member who knows and understands the Constitution, and recognises Islam as the official religion of the Constitution," she said.
Yeoh also stressed that under the ministry's Projek Artikel 11's Jom Ziarah programme, no Muslim youths were involved in visiting churches and the programme also involved various other activities on faith.
Recently, a poster of Impact Malaysia inviting non-Christian Malaysians to join a Jom Ziarah programme at a church in Klang, Selangor, was circulated online.
Yeoh also lodged a police report through her aide yesterday (March 13), against blogger Badrul Hisham Shaharin for allegedly linking the programme to evangelism in a post online.