Hannah Yeoh gives statement to cops on church visit programme

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh gave her statement to the police at the Sentul district police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to facilitate investigations into the organising of the "Jom Ziarah Gereja" programme by an NGO under her ministry.

Yeoh arrived with her lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo, at around 5.30pm, saying she would cooperate fully with police investigations.

She added that her statement was consistent with her answers about the programme given in Parliament a week ago.

"I came after reading the news that I was called to provide my statement today and I don’t want to waste time," she told reporters at the grounds of the police headquarters.

When contacted, Sentul district police chief Beh Eng Lai confirmed that Yeoh had provided her statement yesterday. 

On March 19, Kuala Lumpur police chief Azmi Abu Kassim was reported to have said that an investigation paper had been opened over the organisation of the programme, even though it had been cancelled.

The "Jom Ziarah Gereja" programme was an initiative under Project Article 11 headed by Impact Malaysia, an NGO under the youth and sports ministry.

Last Tuesday, Yeoh stated that the programme did not involve Muslims during the winding-up of Budget 2023 for her ministry at the Dewan Rakyat.