Catholic Church in Malaysia
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The Catholic Church in Malaysia is part of the worldwide
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
, under the spiritual leadership of the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in Rome. The Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia currently is Archbishop
Wojciech Załuski Wojciech Załuski (born 5 April 1960) is a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1985. He has been an apostolic nuncio and an archbishop since 2014. Biography He was born in Za ...
, who was appointed on the 22 September 2020; The resident ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See is Westmoreland Anak Edward Palon. The first Catholic priests landed in
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...
in 1511 as military chaplains to the Portuguese. The missionaries were Franciscan and Dominican friars. Malacca new role became a stop-over for the thousands of missionaries who spread the faith to South and Far East Asia. Till today, small Christian communities are found in these places due to its
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
zest. Malacca holds a special place in the history of the Church in this region.


First wave of evangelisation

From the 7th to the 14th century, numerous small kingdoms which were strongly
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, existed at river mouths. The Sri Vijaya Empire extended its great influence to the region. In 1403, a prince from Sumatra, Parameswara, founded Malacca. He later converted to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
and took the name of Sri Maharaja Mohammed Shah. The year 1511 was marked with the arrival of Portuguese led by Admiral
Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
and the first catholic chaplains. The Portuguese captured Malacca for its well-known spice trade. Between 1545 and 1552, St
Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...
preached in Malacca. By 1557, Malacca was raised to a suffragan see (deputy diocese). In 1641, the occupation of Malacca by the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
began and the authorities in power suppressed Catholicism. The bishops and priests fled to
Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, ...
.


Second wave of evangelisation

In 1786, Sir
Francis Light Captain Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light and his lifelong partner, Martina Rozells, were th ...
took over Penang from the
Sultan of Kedah The Kedah Sultanate (كسلطانن قدح) is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Un ...
. Finally in 1809, the College General in Penang was opened again and seminarians from all over Asia came to be trained there. In 1819, Sir
Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...
took residence in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. In 1824, the Anglo-Dutch Treaty was signed and the Netherlands exchanged Malacca for Bencoolan, Indonesia. Later, in 1826, Penang, Province Wellesley, Malacca and Singapore became the
Straits Settlement The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
under British rule. In 1852, the Sisters of St Maur or the Infant Jesus sisters (IJ) and the
Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...
(La Salle Brothers) sailed over to found Christian schools in major towns in Peninsular Malaysia. The sisters also began orphanages. In 1864, Chinese tin miners settled at the confluence of the muddy Klang and Gombak river mouth, the beginning of
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
. In 1874, the
Treaty of Pangkor The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was a treaty signed between Great Britain and the Sultan of Perak on 20 January 1874, on the Colonial Steamer Pluto, off the coast of Perak. The treaty is significant in the history of the Malay states as it legitimi ...
marked the direct British rule over the Malay states, while the sultans still maintained religious sovereignty. By the end 19th century, Malaysia was booming with massive immigration of Chinese and Indians who were invited to work in the tin mines, rubber plantation and railways by the British.
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
first came to
North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945);Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , ...
when a Spanish mariner turned priest,
Carlos Cuarteroni Rev. Msgr. Carlos Cuarteron (1816 – 12 March 1880), was a Spanish mariner who later became a priest and established the first Roman Catholic missions in northern Borneo.Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capita ...
, with stations established in
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...
and Looc Porin (now
Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...
). However, problems with his assistants left him alone from 1860 and the mission made little progress, and he returned to Spain. The Catholic Mill Hill Missionaries arrived in North Borneo in 1882 to re-establish the Spaniards effort, and focused mainly on the Chinese and indigenous communities, such as the
Kadazan-Dusun Kadazan-Dusun (also written as Kadazandusun or Mamasok Kadazan-Dusun) also less-known as "Mamasok Sabah" are two indigenous peoples of Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun. The Kadazandusun is the largest native group of Bu ...
people. Meanwhile, in
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...
, the Mill Hill Missionaries was invited by the
White Rajahs The White Rajahs were a dynastic monarchy of the British Brooke family, who founded and ruled the Raj of Sarawak, located on the north west coast of the island of Borneo, from 1841 to 1946. The first ruler was Briton James Brooke. As a reward ...
in the hope that it would be a stabilizing influence to the native
Iban people The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples on the island of Borneo in South East Asia. Dayak is a title given by the westerners to the local people of Borneo island. It is believed that the term "Iban" was originally an exonym ...
.


Second World War and the Emergency (1940-1975)

During the years 1942-1945 of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
and the Japanese occupation, schools were closed; and the people suffered a lot. In the years 1948–1960, the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
insurrection was very hostile to the Catholic Church. On 1 February 1948, the Federation of Malaya Government was formed. In 1955, the two dioceses of Kuala Lumpur and Penang were created and the consecration of first local bishops
Dominic Vendargon The Most Reverend Tan Sri Dominic Aloysius Vendargon (29 August 1909 – 3 August 2005) was a Ceylon Tamil priest and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. Early life and family Vendargon was born on 29 August 1909 in Naranthanai in n ...
and
Francis Chan Francis Chan 恩藩(born August 31, 1967), is an American Protestant author, teacher, and preacher. He is the former teaching pastor of Cornerstone Community Church, an Evangelical church in Simi Valley, California founded by Chan in 199 ...
took place. In 1957, on 31 August, Malaya gained independence, and the first Prime Minister
Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...
was appointed. In 1962, Pope
John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June ...
called for the renewal of the Church and opened the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
. On 16 September 1963, a big country uniting Malaysia with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak was created but by 1965, Singapore broke up with Malaysia and became an independent republic. On 13 May 1969, racial violence and killings were recorded in the aftermath of the elections. A state of emergency was declared and a curfew imposed. In 1970, the New Economic Policy was introduced with quota systems. Over the decade, Christians were discriminated against and Catholic and other Christian missionaries were expelled from Sabah. However, in 1972, the new diocese of Malacca-Johor was created, making a total of six in Malaysia (three in the West, and three in Eastern Malaysia). In 1973, Malaysia became the first
ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, milita ...
country to recognise China. From 1970 to 1975 the resurgence of communist activities in the north and in urban centres created more political mayhem and led to persecutions against the Christians. In 1974, the first permanent deacon from Malaysia was ordained. Between 1975 and 1980, Vietnamese refugees (boat people) arrived in throngs and put a new stress on the country. In 1976, a month-long Aggiornamento (in Penang) for Bishops and priests of West Malaysia was held. A vision for the Peninsular Malaysia Church was formulated.


The consolidation of the Catholic faith (1977-2001)

Parallel to the economical and industrial development of the nation, the Catholic Church in Malaysia grew considerably during these years, emphasising on inter-religious dialogue, oecumenism and
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
. In 1977, the first Catholic
Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
Convention was organised in Ipoh. In 1979, the Asian Bishop's Institute for Social Action met in Kuala Lumpur for dialogue on religions. In 1981, a new gathering of all priests from West Malaysia to review the Aggiornamento of 1976 was organised. In 1983, the Malaysian Consultative Council on
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
,
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
(MCCBCHS) for dialogue was formed to represent their interests with the authorities. In the same way and with a spirit of oecumenism, the Christian Federation of Malaysia consisting of the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
churches was formed in 1984. In 1986, the Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Convention (PMPC I) included Ministry to Youth as part of the core needs, besides poor, inter-religious dialogue, unity, formation and community building. In 1989, Sarawak made huge efforts in a successful attempt of renewal with a Eucharistic Congress, a Bible Year and a Bible Congress. In 1995, Churches in Sarawak requested the state to allow other faith education in schools besides Islam. In 1996, PMPA II gathered reviews and reaffirmed Aggiornamento 1976 and PMPC 1986. There was a renewed call for systematic and strategic planning and implementation. In 1998, the Deputy Prime Minister was arrested and the Reformasi movement started. In 1999, the Great Jubilee Year of redemption was declared open by Pope
John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. The first joint Community Spirituality retreat among Bishops, priests, religious and laity was organised. In 2001, the First Peninsula Malaysia Young Catholic Leaders Forum or LEAD 2001 was organised. PMPA III was held at Kuala Lumpur re-emphasised BECs.


Holy See relations

:''See: Holy See – Malaysia relations.'' Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See were initiated by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad when he met
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
before his (Tun Mahathir) resignation. The negotiations continued on until Najib Razak became the Prime Minister. Malaysia established formal diplomatic relations with the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
in 2011 during a meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malay ...
and
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
in Rome. Najib was accompanied by the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur,
Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam , enthroned =29 May 2003 , ended = 13 December 2013 , predecessor = Anthony Soter Fernandez , successor = Julian Leow Beng Kim , ordination = 10 May 1964 , consecration = 4 October 1995 , other_post = , birth_name = , birth_date = , ...
. Archbishop Pakiam went to Vatican not as part of Malaysian Government, but was asked by Vatican to join the delegation as Church representative. The first resident ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See,
Tan Sri The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
Bernard Giluk Dompok Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Bernard Giluk Dompok (born 7 October 1949) is a Malaysian politician who served as Ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See from March 2016 to June 2018, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities from Apri ...
, was elected in October 2015 by Pope Francis. 2017 marked the opening of the official chancery of the Holy See in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Following the change of government from
Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 ...
to
Pakatan Harapan The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the ...
after the 14th General Election,
Bernard Giluk Dompok Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Bernard Giluk Dompok (born 7 October 1949) is a Malaysian politician who served as Ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See from March 2016 to June 2018, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities from Apri ...
was terminated of his service on 30 June 2018. Westmoreland Edward Palon, who was named by Wisma Putra as second Malaysia's ambassador to the Vatican on 21 March is a
Bidayuh Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, which are broadly similar in language and culture (see also issues below). T ...
who hails from Kampung Duras, Kuching. The Apostolic Nunciature in Malaysia was established on the 27 July 2011 through an official act of the Holy See "Acta Apostolicae Sedis". The current Nuncio is Archbishop Wojciech Zaluski.


Today

As of 2010, there were 1,007,643 Catholics in Malaysia - approximately 3.56% of the total population. The country is divided into nine dioceses including three archdioceses: *
Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur ( la, Archidioecesis Kuala Lumpurensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia. It was erected as the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur by Pope Pius X ...
** Diocese of Malacca Johore **
Diocese of Penang The Roman Catholic Diocese of Penang is situated in the northern region of Malaysia covering 5 states, namely Penang, Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Kelantan. It was created on 25 February 1955 together with the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. It is und ...
*
Archdiocese of Kuching The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching ( la, Archidioecesis Kuchingensis) is a Metropolitan Latin archbishopric of the Roman Catholic Church in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on Borneo, however remains dependent on the missionary Roman Congreg ...
** Diocese of Miri ** Diocese of Sibu *
Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu (Lat: ''Archdioecesis Kotakinabaluensis'') is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Sabah, a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The Archdiocese is the ...
** Diocese of Keningau ** Diocese of Sandakan


Catholic publications

The Catholic Church in Malaysia has its own weekly newspaper, '' The Herald'', distributed to all Catholic churches throughout Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak also have their own local newspapers, such as Catholic Sabah (fortnightly), an
Today's Catholic
(monthly).


Notable people

* Anthony Soter Fernandez †- Malaysia's first Roman Catholic
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
, elevated on 19 November 2016. * Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Bernard Giluk Dompok - the first Ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See (Vatican City). * Dato' Hans Isaac - Actor, producer, director and former model. *
Kasthuriraani Patto Kasthuriraani d/o Patto ( ta, கஸ்தூரி பட்டு, Kastūri paṭṭu; born 9 August 1979) is a Malaysian politician from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition. ...
- politician and former
Member of Parliament (MP) A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...
for
Batu Kawan Batu Kawan ( Jawi: باتو كاون) is an island in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It is geographically separated from the rest of Seberang Perai by the Jawi and Tengah rivers. , Batu Kawan contained a population of 5,537. Long ...
. * Dato Pandelela Rinong Pamg - national diver and a two-time
Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
medalist. * Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum - the 9th
Chief Justice of Malaysia The Chief Justice of Malaysia ( Malay: ''Ketua Hakim Negara Malaysia''), also known as the chief justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 1994, and p ...
. * Teresa Kok - former Member of Parliament for
Seputeh Seputeh is a federal constituency in the Federal Territories, Malaysia, that has been represented in the Dewan Rakyat The Dewan Rakyat (English: 'House of Representatives'; ) is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legis ...
and former Minister for Primary Industry. * Dato Westmoreland anak Edward Palon - the second Ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See (Vatican City).


See also

*
Christianity in Asia Christianity in Asia has its roots in the very inception of Christianity, which originated from the life and teachings of Jesus in 1st-century Roman Judea. Christianity then spread through the missionary work of his apostles, first in the Leva ...
*
Christianity in Malaysia Christianity is a minority religion in Malaysia. In the 2020 census, 9.1% of the Malaysian population identified themselves as Christians. About two-thirds of Malaysia's Christian population lives in East Malaysia, in the states of Sabah and Sa ...
*
Religion in Malaysia Malaysia is a multireligious country, whose official religion is Islam. As of the 2020 Population and Housing Census, 63.5 percent of the population practices Islam; 18.7 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; 6.1 percent Hinduism; and 2. ...
* Freedom of religion in Malaysia


References


External links


Website of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian Catholic Christians Facebook group

Malaysia Herald Catholic Newspaper



Further reading

* ''Khabar Gembira: History of the Catholic Church in East Malaysia and Brunei, 1880-1976'' by John Rooney * ''The Journey of the Catholic Church in Malaysia, 1511-1996'' by Maureen K. C Chew * ''The Founding of the Roman Catholic Church in Melanesia and Micronesia, 1850-1875'' (Princeton Theological Monograph) by Ralph M. Wiltgen * "The Roman Catholic Church" in Robert Hunt, Lee Kam Hing and John Roxborogh, ''Christianity in Malaysia: A Denominational History,'' Pelanduk, 1992, 1-33 {{DEFAULTSORT:Malaysia Catholic Church by country Catholic Church in Asia