Allegations over ‘Becoming Hannah’ refuse to die.
Led by Jaringan Muslimin Pulau Pinang (JMPP), a group of 15 Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) lodged a report at the Bayan Baru police station in Penang against Selangor state assembly speaker Hannah Yeoh on Sept 24.
The group’s spokesman JMPP chairman Mohamed Hafiz Mohamed Nordin accused Yeoh of preaching about Christianity through her autobiography ‘Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey’, the New Straits Times reported.
“She called Christians to come back and build the Kingdom of God. What does she mean by building the Kingdom of God? Which God is she referring to?
“We believe it is an attempt to spread the Christian beliefs to others. The authorities must take action,” Hafiz was quoted as saying by the daily.
He was referring to an excerpt in the book where Yeoh urges Oversea Church Fellows (OCF) to come to Penang to help the Christian movement.
“She also should not use the state legislative assembly as a platform to do so. She better stop. With this report, we are calling upon the police to investigate and take action against her,” Hafiz said.
‘Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey’ has been openly sold since its launch in 2014.
The group also called for the police to investigate an allegedly seditious video uploaded on YouTube in 2014 that the NGOs claimed challenge Islam as the official religion of the country.
The video is titled Message to Malaysian Church 2014 and shows a foreign Christian evangelist movement led by Aseef Hadalah. It is believed to have been recorded during one of Aseef’s talks overseas.
“We will approach relevant authorities including the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to ensure Aseef does not enter our country to spread such hatred to the people,” Hafiz was quoted as saying by NST.
In response to the allegations against her, Yeoh explained that the Kingdom of God which is mentioned many times in the Bible is “about His righteousness governing our hearts and minds”.
“He says to love Him, to love our neighbours as we love ourselves, to reject corruption, to walk humbly, to do justice, to look after the orphans and widows.
“That, my friend, is what the Kingdom of God looks like,” Yeoh told FMT.
Yeoh believed that the issue stemmed from “the last police report lodged by the infamous lecturer”, in reference to Universiti Utara Malaysia senior lecturer Kamarul Yusoff.
She also questioned why some random YouTube videos were picked and connected with DAP.
“Is this really how the next election is to be fought? Why keep stirring religious and racial lies to cover up corruption and incompetence?
“I see hidden hands at work stirring this to distract attention from real issues like 1MDB, the higher cost of living, declining standard of education, shrinking budget for the police force, hospitals and welfare department, and the safety of children, like the fire last week (at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school),” Yeoh said.
Related reports:
May 26, In Defence of Hannah
May 16, Hannah Yeoh Lodges Report over “Hypocrite” Article