Is blasphemy illegal in Malaysia?
Criminal offense
Malaysia prohibits insult to religion with penalties under both Sharia courts and the Malaysian Penal Code.
Malaysia is one of 40 countries classified “Criminal offense” for blasphemy — 70% of the 57 with data.
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Blasphemy law
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Indonesia
- Criminal offense Indonesia's Article 156(a) criminalizes public expressions of hostility toward religions, with up to five years imprisonment.
- Philippines
- Criminal offense Philippines punishes crimes against religious worship with imprisonment.
- Thailand
- Criminal offense Thailand has blasphemy laws under the 1956 penal code and Sangha Act, with imprisonment penalties for insulting Buddhism or religious beliefs.
- Myanmar
- Criminal offense Myanmar has blasphemy laws under Sections 295A and 298 of the Penal Code, with penalties including imprisonment and fines for outraging religious feelings.
- Bangladesh
- Criminal offense Bangladesh's blasphemy laws prohibit hurting religious sentiments, with the government rejecting calls for death penalty but maintaining criminal penalties.
- Australia
- Criminal offense Blasphemy remains a common law offence in several Australian jurisdictions, though laws have been repealed at the federal level.
Other laws in Malaysia
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Flag Desecration
- Criminal offense
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.