Malaysia is a highly pluralistic society. Around 61.3 percent of the population identify as Muslim, the vast majority adhering to state-sponsored Sunni Islam. Buddhists comprise 19.8 percent; 9.2 percent are Christian; 6.3 percent are Hindu; 1.3 percent practice Confucianism, Taoism, and other traditional Chinese religions; and about 0.8 percent identify with no religion. Although Malaysia was founded as a secular state, Article 3 of the 1957 constitution places Islam—interpreted as Sunni Islam—as the federation’s official religion, while Article 160 links Malay ethnic identity with Islam. This constitutional construct has long been used to advance social policies—many of which amount to legally mandated religious discrimination—that give ethnic Malays preferential treatment, including in education and employment, to offset historical economic disparities. Government Regulation of Religious Practice and Identity The federal Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) provides funding for mosques and preapproved talking points for imams. In January, guidelines from JAKIM prompted the Ministry of Education to declare the Pongal harvest festival as a Hindu religious event, raising concerns among the Malaysian Tamil community of crackdowns on celebrating the festival in public schools similar to those preventing the celebration of the Chinese New Year. JAKIM takes a proactive role in regulating religion, including monitoring perceived insults against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad as part of the country’s enforcement of blasphemy laws. It also regulates and monitors independent Islamic preachers to ensure they follow officially accepted interpretations of Islam. All Muslim students in public schools at the Form 5 level must take a course that includes federally-approved material claiming Sunni Islam as the “superior” and only acceptable form of Islam, while labeling Shi’a Islam as “deviant.” In 1996, the Fatwa Committee for Religious Affairs issued a fatwa prohibiting the proselytism, promulgation, and profession of Shi’a Islam; at least 11 of the 13 states have adopted the fatwa. At the same time, individual states have a high degree of autonomy in regulating Islamic practice. In August, the PAS-dominated state government of Kelantan began to investigate the indigenous Main Puteri dance to make it “Shari’a compliant,” continuing a trend in more conservative states of banning “un-Islamic” indigenous practices such as traditional dances and dramas. JAKIM, along with states and federal territories through their individual Shari’a codes, often target the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community; for example, JAKIM runs a conversion therapy camp (Mukhayyam) portrayed as a job program that targets LGBTI Muslims to guide them to the “correct path.” In August, minority rights activist Nicole Fong tweeted against JAKIM efforts to “heal” the Muslim LGBTI community, prompting Director-General Datuk Paimuzi Yahya to report her for defamation. In July, Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, minister in charge of religious affairs to the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI), ordered his department to force members of the transgender community of the federal territories, including Kuala Lumpur, into religious education programs. Religious identification on national identification cards, known as MyKad, continued to present difficulties for minority faith communities. Only Muslims’ cards visibly state their faith in print, while the cards of individuals belonging to other communities include their religious affiliation in electronic form—an easily identifiable difference that some local sources report leads to discrimination in government services. Some Malaysians who identify with or convert to non-Muslim religions have been falsely labeled as Muslim or prevented from changing their religious identity on their MyKad, which brings them under the jurisdiction of the Shari’a courts. In a positive development, the Federal Court determined that Rosiliza Ibrahim, who was born of a Muslim father and Buddhist mother, could identify as a non-Muslim, following a five-year legal battle to change her registration. The Dual Court System Malaysia maintains a system of two independent but equal courts: secular and religious. Muslims are subjected to general laws enacted by parliament as well as religious laws enacted by either the federal government or the legislature of the state in which they reside. This dual system enables varying levels of protection under the law based on one’s religious status. The Shari’a court system appears to place an unequal burden on women, as evidenced by the fact that Muslim women who choose not to wear a headscarf often face societal discrimination with no legal recourse. For example, in 2020, Maryam Lee— who published a book in 2019 about her choice to stop wearing the headscarf—continued to receive death threats and faced investigation by religious authorities for her decision. The legal age of children to marry varies in each state between those who are Muslim and those who are not, with lower age restrictions and fewer protections for children who are Muslim. Marriage between Muslims and non-Muslims remains illegal unless the non-Muslim partner converts. Key U.S. Policy Malaysia and the United States maintain strong bilateral ties. The United States is Malaysia’s third-largest trading partner, and the two countries share numerous educational and cultural exchange programs. Those programs include the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), which since 2008 has brought Muslim educational leaders to the United States in part to observe conditions for freedom of religion and belief. The two countries also continue to partner in counterterrorism efforts through information sharing, capacity-building programs for law enforcement and judicial authorities, and assistance to improve immigration security and border controls. In March, the State Department awarded Susanna Liew, wife of Pastor Koh, the International Women of Courage Award for her advocacy on behalf of her husband and others who have been disappeared by government forces. U S C I R F – R E C O M M E N D E D F O R S P E C I A L W AT C H L I S T 79 MALAYSIA Background