The World Race Month 5- Malaysia from Aly on Vimeo.
Malaysia
Asia
Geography
Area: 330,434 sq km
Two distinct parts: Peninsular (West) Malaysia on the Kra peninsula of mainland Asia (PM), and East Malaysia (EM) consisting of the territories of Sarawak and Sabah on the northern third of the island of Borneo. Well-watered, tropical rainforest.
Population: 27,913,990 Annual Growth: 1.72%
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Urbanites: 72.2%
HDI Rank: 66 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples
Peoples: 183 (31% unreached) All peoples?Unreached Peoples Prayer Card?
Official language: Malay Languages: 145 All languages
Religion
Largest Religion: Muslim
|
Religion |
|
Pop % |
Ann Gr |
|
2,632,289 |
9.43 |
1.9 |
|
|
1,207,985 |
4.3 |
2.9 |
|
|
Muslim |
17,476,949 |
62.61 |
|
Challenges for Prayer
Since Malay became the official national language, Christians have been confronted with a series of challenges. Pray for improvements in:
a) The need for Christian literature in the Malay language. Writers are few and the market is still small, yet the younger generation is educated in this medium. There are numerous Christian bookstores, including online ones, and an active Bible Society.
b) 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.
c) The language used in church services. Many churches, especially Catholic and the SIB, have congregations that use Bahasa Malaysia. Implementing an official and national language could be a positive development; pray that freedom to use the language in its entirety, by all faith communities, would reflect the multi-faith and multi-cultural make-up of the nation.
