Located in the heart of South East Asia, Malaysia is surrounded by other countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei. Malaysia’s capital is Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia's Official Stance

Malaysia’s official religion is Islam. However, the freedom of religion is also guaranteed by the constitution. Of the 28 million Malaysians (Malays, Chinese and other ethnic groups), 60.4 per cent are Muslims. Malays (the largest ethnic group) are generally Muslims. There are also Indian Muslims and a small number of Chinese Muslim converts. Although the previous and present Prime Ministers have made proclamations that Malaysia is an Islamic nation, certain segments of the population have resisted this status, pointing to the nation’s secular constitution. Proselytising Muslims is prohibited by law and conversion out of Islam is also forbidden.

Believers in Malaysia

Believers from a Muslim background are few in number. Many worship in house churches and retain their Islamic clothing and some cultural customs to avoid detection and harassment. In many cases, they discovered the Messiah through a direct divine encounter. Though they are few in number, they are courageous in their witness and their faith.

Bishop Ng Moon Hing of the Christian Federation of Malaysia has complained that attempts to import the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia, i.e. the Alkitab, have often been thwarted. "It would appear as if the authorities are waging a continuous, surreptitious and systematic programme against Christians in Malaysia to deny them access to the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia," wrote the Bishop in a recent open letter to the Government. "Malaysian Christians, must have access to Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia in order to read, comprehend and practise their faith."

Flag of Malaysia

Map of Malaysia

Prayer Starters:

• Pray for believers to open up their hearts to their Muslim neighbours and to be a blessing to them in practical, concrete ways
• Pray for more divine encounters to occur among the the Malays (see Acts 10:17-48).
• Pray for believers to be courageous while extending the hand of fellowship and assistance to new people (it can be risky).

Listen to the Podcast - DAY 20 - The Muslim Majority in Malaysia

Video: Malaysia: Muslim Persecution of Christians (4:49)

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Shahid of Malaysia

Shahid, like many rural Malays came to the capital Kuala Lumpur (KL) looking for a job and some big city excitement. He stays with five other young men in a three room apartment near the electronics factory where they work. One of his roommates has been encouraging him to use drugs, a massive problem among young, urban Malays. One of Shahid's other room mates recently joined with a radical Muslim group that wants to see a more Islamic government take over from the current moderate government.

Malaysia - Looking for Answers

Shahid had left behind the quiet, conservative (and sometimes boring) village life he grew up with; but he is beginning to feel the emptiness of the big city thrills of massive shopping malls, night-clubs and drugs. Maybe he should follow his roommate to a meeting and see if a more radical form of Islam can give him a purpose to live for. Adding to Shahid's confusion is his constant concern for his recently divorced sister Haslina and her daughter Noor. How can they face the future financially or socially? There are millions like Shahid and Haslina in Malaysia; looking for answers, with almost no Christians who are willing or able to point the way to the Saviour. Many of Malaysia's Christians have never thought to much about how to lead their Muslim neighbours to Christ. The cultural and relational gaps between them and the Muslim community are sometimes enormous.

Flag of Malaysia

Map of Malaysia

NOTE: In 1981 the Malay Language Bible was partially banned - only Christians are allowed to purchase and own one. The number of places of worship have been limited which affects the status of independent churches. Public gatherings of five or more people are also officially outlawed.

Pray for the Muslims of Malaysia

* Pray for the political leaders of Malaysia that as they serve their people, God would give them wisdom and enable them to lead their nation in justice.

* Pray for the church to be bold and courageous, that fear would not be their hindrance in sharing the Gospel, in the midst of the current persecution.

* Pray that the Muslim Malays would have a revelation of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The risen Christ will help them turn from the things that would bring destructive influences into their lives.

* Pray for the younger generation to find their place and role in society. Pray for employment opportunities and for them to have hope in the future.

* Pray for wisdom and guidance for the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) in Malaysia.

Background on Malaysia (World Factbook)

During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965.

Economy of Malaysia

Malaysia, a middle-income country, transformed itself from 1971 through the late 1990s from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy. Growth was almost exclusively driven by exports - particularly of electronics. As a result, Malaysia was hard hit by the global economic downturn and the slump in the information technology (IT) sector in 2001 and 2002. Malaysia "unpegged" the ringgit from the US dollar in 2005 and the currency appreciated 6% against the dollar in 2006. Healthy foreign exchange reserves and a small external debt greatly reduce the risk that Malaysia will experience a financial crisis over the near term.

About Malaysia

Population: 28,728,607 (July 2011 est.) World rank #43

Life Expectancy at Birth: 73.79 years. World rank #112

Ethnic groups: Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8%

Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% note - in addition, Shamanism is practiced in East Malaysia

Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai

note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan

Literacy: 88.7% -- Male: 92%, Female: 85.4%

School life expectancy: 13 years

"At the Crossroads - Malaysia - Video"

There are claims Malaysia's secular constitution is being threatened by creeping Islamisation. A documentary.

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Flag of Malaysia

Map of Malaysia

Prayer Starters:

• Pray for the emergence of spiritual leaders among the Malay to proclaim the Gospel, teach, and pastor their own people.
• Pray for God’s working through the recently completed contextualized Malay language Scriptures, as Malays have opportunity to read them.
• Pray for the believers across Malaysia, to be salt and light and an instrument in God’s hands for the unreached Malay.
• Pray for God’s stirring (perhaps through dreams and visions) in the hearts of Malays. Pray that many other Malay-related unreached peoples across Southeast Asia will hunger to know God.

Video: Chocolate

One of the 15 Malaysia socio-political films showing inter-cultural relationships in Malaysia. Worth the watch ...

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