Youth & Sports Minister, Hannah Yeoh, has won a defamation suit against a lecturer from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), who claimed that Hannah was converting Malaysia into a Christian country with her “Christian agenda.”
The High Court has ordered lecturer Kamarul Zaman Yusoff to pay Hannah Yeoh RM400,000 in damages for defaming her in two Facebook posts published in 2017.
Hannah also requested Kamarul to come up with a public apology, which was rejected by the Court as Justice Aliza Sulaiman said, “Any apology would not be sincere.”
Kamarul, however, did not appear at court today (May 30), as reported by Malaysia Gazette and Harian Metro.
In two Facebook posts dated May 10 and May 17, 2017, Kamarul claimed that Hannah had motives to spread Christianity through her political career, and he quoted the content from the minister’s autobiography, Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey.
The Facebook post dated May 17 is still accessible to the public, in which Kamarul said he had lodged a police report at the Changloon Police Station in Kedah. In the post, Kamarul also claimed that Hannah aimed for non-Muslims to read her biography, and said she was on a mission to gain more disciples as an ambassador of God.
In her Facebook post today (May 30), Hannah announced her victory in the defamation suit and thanked her legal team for their efforts in the case. In her previous Facebook post, Hannah also affirmed that she has always respected the Federal Constitution and the position of Islam as the religion of the Federation.
Stay tuned as we keep you updated.
