Biblical History
It appears, that after the confusion of languages in Babylon, the 13 sons of Joctan, Eber’s grandchildren (of the Line of Shem), migrated south to Arabia, India and Indonesia (and beyond?). As Malaysia lies in the path of “…migrated south to Arabia, India and Indonesia”, one can reasonable assume the quoted descendants of Joctan.
Brief Secular History
Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country lying just north of the Equator. Malaysia is composed of two non-contiguous regions: Peninsular Malaysia (Semenanjung Malaysia), also called West Malaysia (Malaysia Barat), which is on the Malay Peninsula, and East Malaysia (Malaysia Timur), which is on the island of Borneo. The Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, lies in the western part of the peninsula. Malaysia, a member of the Commonwealth, represents the political marriage of territories that were formerly under British rule. When it was established on 16th Sep 1963, Malaysia comprised the territories of Malaya (now Peninsular Malaysia), the island of Singapore, and the colonies of Sarawak and Sabah
in northern Borneo. In August 1965 Singapore seceded from the federation and became an independent republic.
Intercessory Overview
Malaysia has three major ethnicities: Malay (60%), Chinese (30%) and native tribes. The Malays are the most powerful group in the country, and being Muslim is considered an important part of their identity. Most Christians are from the tribal and Chinese people groups, and most churches experience relative freedom as long as they do not evangelize the Malays.
Major Religion
56 percent of Malaysians are Sunni Muslims, but there is also a significant Buddhist population. 9 percent are Christians.
Religious demographics
The country has an area of 127,000 square miles and a population of 26.9 million. According to 2000 census figures, 60% of the population practices Islam; 19% Buddhism; 9% Christianity; 6% Hinduism; and 3% Confucianism, Taoism, and other traditional Chinese religions. Other minority religious groups include animists, Sikhs, and Baha’is. Ethnic Malay Muslims account for approximately 55% of the population. Three of the five most prominent political parties are organized along ethnic and religious lines. The majority of Christians reside in the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Persecutor
The government severely punishes Christian converts and strictly opposes outreach and evangelism among the Malay people.
Access to Bibles
It is illegal for Malay people to own a Bible, and Malay-language Bibles are largely unavailable outside Christian-majority areas.
What It Means To Follow Christ
in Malaysia: While Christianity is not illegal, Christians are marginalized by the ruling Muslim ethnic group and have difficulty acquiring building permits for new churches. Many churches work in the languages of Mandarin, Tamil and English, but not in the Malay language. No Malay churches meet openly, and it is illegal for Malays to convert to Christianity. Christian converts who are caught are confined to so-called re-education camps that use torture and propaganda to force them to return to Islam. Many indigenous people have come to Christ in eastern Malaysia.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Christian workers trying to return to the country.
- Pray that locals and foreigners will work together to engage the unreached.
- Pray for a media project that will make the gospel available to nearly everyone in the country.
- Pray that new churches will be established and filled with Malay people.
- Pray for church leaders who are forming strategies to engage unreached people.
More Prayer
- Malaysian society faces an uncertain future. The Malay- and Islam-centric UMNO party dominated Malaysia’s political scene from independence. It followed policies that favoured ethnic Malays, but enriched a small proportion of them at the expense of everyone else. The gap between rich and poor increased as a result. At the same time, minorities felt frustrated with the discrimination and government corruption. UMNO was defeated in the 2018 elections, and its corrupt leader put in jail. This, along with the 2022 election, signalled a new era in politics in Malaysia. Pray for the leaders, who must seek to hold the country together in ways that satisfy both moderate and conservative Muslims, as well as the sizeable and diverse minorities.
- The Christian community faces many challenges beyond the external issues of religious freedom and evangelizing Muslims. Pray for:
- Pray for unity among Christians. They face social ills, injustices and growing discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities. The Christian Federation of Malaysia represents evangelicals, Catholics and mainline denominations before the government. The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) consists of evangelical churches and organizations focused on building unity, prayer, ministry and mission. The NECF assists evangelicals in transforming the nation by promoting economic sufficiency, justice/advocacy and national righteousness.
- Godly leadership within the Christian community. Pray for godly leaders who are prepared, at considerable cost, to lead their churches by nurturing and empowering members to live godly lives – in the discipline of prayer and the task of evangelism – as they manifest witness to the concerns and needs of every sphere of society.
- Lack of Christian workers. Many smaller churches have no trained pastor, even with a healthy number of Bible colleges, seminaries and church-training programmes. Too few respond to God’s call to service because of family expectations, materialism, a lack of role models and the perception that years of theological training are required.
- Marginalization creates anxiety, a ghetto mentality and the desire to withdraw from being the witnesses Christians should be. Emigration rates of professionals and Bible school graduates are high.
- Restrictions on the use of the Malay language Bible and other Christian books. These were banned when the government deemed their contents to be detrimental to public peace. One main issue is the use of the word Allah for God in such material. After forcing Malaysians to use Malay as a common language, the government now fears that such use in Christian literature and services will induce Malays to become Christian. Pray for Christian publishers and ministries to be strong and shrewd in defending their legal rights over this issue.
- Ministry to young people is crucial as the generation gap widens and many churches consist predominantly of older people. The temptations to young people – criminal activity, gambling, substance abuse, sexual immorality – are more pronounced than ever and are part of the reason for the resurgence of fundamentalist Islam. Many Indian, Chinese, East Malaysians and immigrants are finding Jesus through agencies such as YFC, Cru, Navigators, SU, FES(IFES) and others working in schools and universities. Pray for these ministries and their focus on discipling Christian young people to stand against the many influences that draw them away from their Saviour.
- Expatriate Christian workers have declined in numbers due to visa restrictions. Their presence is still valued, and various ministries depend on their input. Pray for the issue of necessary visas and extensions; long-term presence is possible for those with adequate funds. Pray also for effective ministry within the limitations that exist.
- The mission vision of the Church in Malaysia continues to increase. There are over 30 agencies invested in the harvest. The NECF as a national body trains local congregations and denominations to send out qualified workers. The Malaysian Centre for Global Missions also works to this end. Major agencies include Interserve, WBT, OMF, OM, STAMP/Strategic Missions Program, Methodists and YWAM. Many independent churches send workers directly as well; these are nearly impossible to enumerate.
- The immigrant and foreign labourer population has swelled to over two million – probably significantly more if the number includes those there illegally. They come from Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, India and elsewhere. This includes some of the world’s least-evangelized peoples such as Acehnese and Minangkabau. Most work for very low wages in difficult, often back-breaking labour. They are mostly Muslim but with some Hindus and Buddhists as well. The Malaysian Church has a wonderful opportunity to reach many un-evangelized groups who are right on their doorstep. Pray that Christians might have the vision and the courage to reach out and seize this opportunity.
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