Malaysia is a multiracial society that faces serious challenges caused by a large ethnic wealth gap and vast religious differences. Sunni Islam is the official and favoured religion in Peninsular (west) Malaysia. By constitutional definition, all ethnic Malays are Muslim. Civil courts govern the Indian and Chinese ethnic minorities, while Muslim Malays are subject to Islamic, or Shariah, courts in matters such as marriage, land rights, inheritance and religious conversion.
Malaysia's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but fundamentalist Muslims do everything in their power to inhibit Christian evangelism. Shariah law often supersedes the constitution. It is illegal to evangelize Malays, and Malays may not convert to another religion. Apostasy laws make conversion illegal in all but one Malaysian state. The government restricts Christian literature and Bibles in the Malay language and monitors their use.
Country Information
Population 31,809,660 (July 2018 est.)
Ethnicity (%) Bumiputera (61.7 - Malays and indigenous peoples), Chinese (20.8), Indigenous (11.8), Indian (6.2), others (0.9), non-citizens (10.4)
Religion (%) Muslim (61.3), Buddhist (19.8), Christian (9.2), Hindu (6.3), Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions (1.3), Other (0.4), Non-religious (0.8),
Leader King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah
Government type Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Legal system Mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law, and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Court at request of supreme head of the federation
Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Malaysia
Pray that Christians will stand firm in their faith, despite opposition
Pray that Malaysian Christians will be free to practice their faith in Jesus Christ.
Pray that all Christians in Malaysia will be able to freely access the Bible.
Pastor Raymond Koh, Jonathan (son), Susanna (wife), and Esther (daughter) Photo (family): Free Malaysia Today
On February 13th, 2017, surveillance cameras captured Pastor Raymond Koh being forced to bring his vehicle to a sudden stop before masked men abducted him in an operation that appeared to be
On February 13th, 2017, Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted from the streets of Malaysia. He hasn't been seen or heard from since, and his car has never been located. Video footage of the entire crime was captured by nearby security cameras.
Pastor Raymond Koh disappeared on February 13th, 2017 when his car was forced to stop and he was abducted in broad daylight by masked men (see this report). On April 3rd of this year, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia released findings that placed blame for the attack on th
For more than a year, Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh has been missing. On February 13th, 2017, masked men forced his vehicle to stop, pulled him from the car, and then drove away with both vehicles -- all captured in broad daylight by CCTV cameras. Despite widespread distribution of
