In her suit, Yeoh said Kamarul uploaded two Facebook posts between May 10, 2017 and May 17, 2017, where he alleged that “the plaintiff (Yeoh) has a motive to proselytise Christianity through her politics”.

The lecturer had also cited Yeoh’s biography, Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey, for driving a “Christian agenda”.

Yeoh said the lecturer had also claimed that she “intends to convert Malaysia into a Christian country”.

“The plaintiff pleads that the words were offensive, completely untrue and a malicious attempt to seriously defame the plaintiff publicly and to expose her to hatred, contempt and ridicule, with the calculated aim of destroying her reputation as an elected representative,” Yeoh said.

Yeoh is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages from Kamarul.

On May 15, 2017, Yeoh lodged a police report against Kamarul, claiming that his Facebook posts were malicious.

Two days later, Kamarul filed a counter police report against her, alleging that Yeoh was involved in proselytisation.

In his statement of defence, Kamarul said his two Facebook posts were not defamatory and were justified.

“As a lecturer and a Muslim, I have the duty to inform the people on the book’s contents as I feared they may be influenced by Christianity,” he added.

Kamarul contended that as a political analyst, he had the right to comment on political issues in Malaysia.

“The plaintiff needs to show if any actions were taken against the defendant over his comments.”

Kamarul denied that his employer (UUM) had received complaints against him over the comments.

Besides Kamarul, Yeoh also filed a suit against former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan over his allegations that she tried to turn Malaysia into a Christian country.