Yeoh said she was at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today for the mediation session but Kamarul did not show up despite previously agreeing to take part in it.

“His absence showed a clear disregard for the court and the mediation process. Trial is to proceed on Nov 25,” Yeoh, the youth and sports minister, said in a Facebook post.

Yeoh filed the suit in 2022 over two Facebook posts Kamarul uploaded in May 2017, where he alleged that the Segambut MP “has a motive to proselytise Christianity through her politics”.

Kamarul, who was a special officer to the prime minister from 2021 to 2022, 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”.

She contends that the words are offensive, completely untrue and a malicious attempt to seriously defame her, and is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages from Kamarul.

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

In 2017, after the posts were published, Yeoh lodged a police report against Kamarul, claiming that his Facebook postings were malicious. Kamarul filed a counter police report two days later, alleging that Yeoh was involved in proselytisation.