Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria has signalled his readiness to face Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh in court over a potential defamation lawsuit.
Razman has responded to Yeoh’s letter of demand regarding allegations that she used her ministerial position to propagate Christianity to Muslims, his lawyer Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz confirmed, according to Malaysiakini.
Yeoh’s lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, also confirmed receipt of the response.
Among Yeoh’s possible next steps as Segambut MP is to proceed with a defamation suit against the Semanggol assemblyperson.
The dispute arises from Razman’s remarks during a 30-minute speech last month, a one-minute clip of which went viral.
He later apologised for erroneously linking Yeoh to YTL Corporation Berhad’s founder, Yeoh Tiong Lay.
Yeoh warned of legal action against Razman via social media.
A letter of demand dated 28 January shows Yeoh seeking RM1 million in compensation and a public apology over the Christianity propagation claim.
In a response letter dated 7 February to Yeoh’s counsel, Razman denied defaming her and is relying on the defence of justification (prepared to prove his statement in court) and fair comment.
The PAS leader argued that his words were based on facts from Yeoh’s memoir, “Becoming Hannah”.