Malaysia Country Update

This country update assesses religious freedom conditions in Malaysia during 2021. Malaysia has witnessed unprecedented political instability in recent years—starting on February 24, 2020, with the sudden collapse of the Pakatan Harapan coalition and then the collapse of the succeeding Perikatan Nasional coalition over a year later on August 16, 2021. During this time, Malaysian authorities from various political parties in several states and the federal government continued to pursue policies to further restrict religious freedom. The Muslim population, in particular, has faced restrictions to their religious practice—especially Malay-Muslims.