Involve Jakim, PAS man says on church visit programme

Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari today urged the government to involve religious authorities such as the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia or Jakim in the "Jom Ziarah Gereja" programme organised by an NGO in conjunction with the youth and sports ministry. 

He said the programme was good in principle but would cause concern.

"While the ministry is not directly involved, there are funds coming from it.

"I hope the ministry's allocations for NGOs are monitored, so that the programmes are in line with the government's aspirations," he said while debating the Supply Bill 2023 at the committee level in the Dewan Rakyat.

The programme and the NGO, Impact Malaysia, were highlighted by Perikatan Nasional activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin.
 
Impact Malaysia had said in a poster uploaded on Instagram that the programme aimed to spread understanding about the similarities and differences between religions as well as exposure to various religions through visits and volunteer activities. 

The poster was later taken down from the social media platform. 

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh later made a police report against Badrul, while Impact Malaysia said it was also organising a "Jom Ziarah Masjid" programme under the series known as Project Article 11. 

Umno Youth earlier told the NGO to cancel the programme, with its new chief Dr Akmal Salleh warning that he would not hesitate to put a stop to it himself or to take legal action against the NGO and all related agencies if his warning went ignored.