Of Malaysia’s peoples, around 58 per cent are Muslim, 22.9 per cent Buddhist, 11 per cent Christian, and 6.3 per cent Hindu. Confucians and Taoists make up about 2.6 per cent, while the remaining percentages consist of other faiths, such as the Bahá’í faith, animism and Sikhism. However, there are a number of Chinese that actually practice a kind of mixture of Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion, but are likely to state their official religion as Buddhism if only for convenience. The official religion of Malaysia is Islam, however other religions can be practiced freely as Malaysia is stated to be secular. Malaysian Muslims are primarily Malays, although there are a number of Indian and Pakistani Muslims as well as a number of ethnic Chinese who have since converted.

Living in Malaysia, as in your home country, you will find that some people are more religious than others. For example, you may encounter some religious Muslims who wear the tudung (headscarf), modest clothing, pray five times a day, fast during the daylight hours throughout the holy month, Ramadan, and adhere to the principles of Islamic banking. Others may only observe some of these customs. It is up to you to be culturally sensitive and be careful not to offend, for example by complaining about the call to prayer emitting from a mosque (which happens five time a day).

Sunni Islam is the official legal form of Islam practiced in Malaysia, and you will find that mosques are extremely common. Government offices are closed for two hours on a Friday to allow their Muslim employees to perform their Friday prayers in the nearest mosque. In the event that you choose to live in, or visit Kelantan, the weekends fall on Friday and Saturday rather than Saturday and Sunday. Islam plays an important cultural role in Malaysia. Part of the Malay language comes from Arabic, although there are also Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Sanskrit, Tamil, English and French influences—yet further evidence of Malaysia’s rich cultural history.

However, one of the things that make Malaysia such an easy place for expatriates to settle down is the fact that although there is a Muslim majority, the interpretation of Islam is relatively liberal compared to what appears to be the common perception. While many Muslim women wear the tudung, those who do not are not penalised. You may, while out and about, spot a number of Muslim women wearing veils that show only their eyes, but these are usually Arab tourists.

It is important to note though, that public displays of affection can sometimes be frowned upon, particularly by the more conservative Malaysians. In Kelantan, a state controlled by PAS, the Islamic Party, different genders are segregated for a number of activities, such as going to the cinema and shopping in the supermarket.

The constitution of Malaysia defines Malays as Muslim. Hence, all Malays are technically Muslims, although not all Muslims are Malays. Malays have bumiputra status, meaning “son of the soil”, which entitles them to certain affirmative action policies in university admissions and jobs, for example, or discounts on houses and cars. This is the result of the New Economic Policy, designed to bring the Malays up to the economic level of the Chinese and Indians.

In addition to the civil courts, you may also hear about the Sharia courts during your time in Malaysia. These conduct legal matters pertaining to Islam and family issues faced by Muslims. Non-Muslims are not obligated to go through the Sharia courts. However, in the event that a non-Muslim marries a Muslim while in Malaysia, they must convert to Islam otherwise the marriage will not be considered legally valid.

The rights of individuals to freely practice their own religion is enshrined in the Malaysian constitution, and all the major festivals/religious occasions of the Muslims, Buddhist, Hindus and Christians are classified as Malaysian public holidays. However, Good Friday is not a federal public holiday, despite being a state one in Sabah and Sarawak.