Malaysia

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Malaysia is that pointy bit below Thailand, with a chunk of Borneo thrown in too. it has peculiar politics. There are a large number of ethnic groups, both indigenous and immigrant (or descended from immigrants) who, every so often, have huge riots about which group has the most money, or power.

Contents

[edit] Religion, ethnicity and law

Muslims make up about 60% of the population, including the entire Malay ethnic group (about 50%). The next largest ethnic group is the Chinese (about 25%), who, like Chinese people elsewhere, observe a combination of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and other traditions. The Indian minority (about 7% of the population) includes Hindus and Muslims. There are also Christian minorities.Malaysia is also the only country in the world where candidates are required to state their ethnicity and religious views before sitting for a public examination.[citation needed]

Malaysia's laws are a strange mixture of secular and religious, with different standards applied to different groups. The constitution requires that every ethnic Malay be a Muslim - but the other groups can believe what they like. Muslims are legally subject to Sharia law, meaning that activities such as premarital sex and imbibing alcohol -- which are perfectly normal among the Chinese community, some of the Indian community, and tourists -- are legally punishable for ethnic Malays and other Muslims. Those wishing to abandon Islam or convert to another faith may still be referred to a Sharia court for punishment, since both the secular and Sharia court might not recognise the conversion, and they could be held liable for the crime of apostasy.

Corporal punishment (by caning) is practised by both the secular and Sharia courts for some offences. Capital punishment (by hanging) is the usual sentence for serious crimes, and is mandatory for convicted murderers.

[edit] Politics

Malaysia is, on paper, a democracy - even the king is elected (not by popular vote, but on a rotating basis determined by his fellow sultans and rajas). In practice the Prime Minister has always been a member of the United Malays National Organisation, the party which has been in power since independence in 1957. Members of the opposition, including one who has held office as lofty as Deputy Prime Minister, can expect imprisonment and beatings by the police as reward for their efforts.

[edit] Secular Organisations in Malaysia

Due to the very low population of atheists and agnostics in Malaysia, there is currently no official secular organisation in Malaysia. However there is one Facebook group known as MAFA (Malaysian Atheist Freethinkers and Agnostics) which represents the atheist/agnostic minority in Malaysia.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

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