Malaysia has long been celebrated for its multicultural and multireligious society, a unique mosaic of Malays, Chinese, Indians, and indigenous peoples, living under the shade of Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and other faiths. Yet beneath this harmonious image lies a growing tension: religion, increasingly, is not just a personal or communal identity, but a political weapon.
By constitution, a Malay is “a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom”, considered, as such, a native of the land. Islam is therefore the official state religion; however, the constitution also guarantees non-Muslims the right to practice their faith freely and without hindrance. Nonetheless, in the past years, racial and religious hate has been rising and spreading across the country, fuelled by political leaders.
Political parties across the spectrum have sought to out-Islam one another to secure Malay-Muslim votes, a demographic that represents the vast majority. This competition has led to policies and rhetoric that often alienate religious minorities, exacerbate societal divisions, and shrink the space for genuine interfaith dialogue. Indeed, when the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which was led by the United Malays National Organization (Umno) and had ruled the country for 61 years, lost the elections against the Pakatan Harapan coalition, a left-wing party, it started spreading fake news and hate against the newly elected leader. To further burnish its ethno-Malay credentials, Umno has teamed up with its one-time arch enemy, the Islamist Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), transforming the political landscape into an ethno-religious ideological battlefield. Proliferation of fake news shared by Umno involving different ethnicities has started shaping citizens’ perception, particularly against Malaysian-Chinese people, who began being considered unpatriotic, and similarly, hate against non-Islam believers has risen exponentially.
This political religiosity is not without consequences. Malaysia’s minorities increasingly feel marginalized, their rights perceived as negotiable or secondary to the demands of the majority. Debates over the use of the word “Allah,” conversions, religious education, and the jurisdiction of Shariah courts often highlight the fragile nature of religious coexistence. The boundaries between religion and state, though never completely distinct in Malaysia, are becoming ever blurrier.
What’s most concerning is how this entanglement of religion and politics hampers national unity. Instead of celebrating diversity as a strength, the political system weaponizes it to manipulate the population’s mind and take over power. Instead of fostering common ground, leaders exploit differences for short-term electoral gain.
To move forward, Malaysia must reimagine its political culture: religious freedom, as enshrined in the constitution, must be defended not only in law but in practice. Politicians must be held accountable when they incite division under the guise of religious piety and xenophobia. And civil society, from interfaith groups to youth-led movements, must reclaim the middle ground, where dialogue is possible and coexistence is the goal.
Malaysia’s future depends on its ability to rise above the fractures that religious politics deepen. This doesn’t mean erasing religion from public life, which would be impossible as it is constitutionally part of it, but it means ensuring that faith inspires compassion and justice, not exclusion and fear. It is important also that religion does not turn into a political tool used to manipulate the population and spread hate in an already fragmentated society.
By The European Institute for International Relations
