Deaf in Malaysia

Introduction / History

The Deaf are found throughout the country of Malaysia. Most are legally "unreachable" since it is against the Malaysian constitution for Muslims to be evangelized. There are a handful of churches with a ministry to the non-Muslim Deaf, at least one of which has a semi-independent Deaf church within the premises of the church.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The adult Deaf tend to congregate in cities or towns where they can find jobs and socialize with other Deaf. In Malaysia each state has at least one school for Deaf children, with a total of 23 elementary schools, two vocational schools and one secondary school. Most are residential schools where local Deaf children live at home. There are also private Deaf schools: two registered elementary schools and other non-registered private schools. Sometimes conditions are not good for the children in these schools while in other schools the children can live more comfortably. In the State of Sabah there are several private kindergartens for Deaf children. For primary one, the children go to the regular Deaf school.

The language of the Deaf, Malaysian Sign Language, is not taught in school, and the teachers discourage its use. The teachers (except for the Deaf teachers) only know and use Signing Exact Malay, utilizing the word order and other aspects of the national language's grammar.

The Deaf of Malaysia are usually gainfully employed, though often in low-paying jobs. There are a few graduates of Gallaudet University and some Malaysian universities, colleges, and polytechnic colleges, who have fairly good jobs.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Deaf people in Malaysia might have a Muslim or a Christian background. In either case, they usually don’t have access to religious training since it requires the teacher to enter into a Deaf form of communication.

What Are Their Needs?

Because of a lack of access to the spoken language, many Deaf people have a difficult time participating in church services and activities; relatively little Bible translation work has been done in sign languages and interpreted church services provide only the most basic of access to the Deaf community. Just like spoken languages, sign languages are not universal and vary widely from country to country and often even within a country.

For Deaf people to have full access to scripture, they need both Bible translation in their heart language and services in sign language. This means the Bible is out of reach. Limited access to education makes learning a spoken language well enough to read scripture exceedingly difficult, and only a small percentage of Deaf people have access to scripture in a sign language.

The global Deaf community needs missionaries, but the most effective way to reach a Deaf person is often through another Deaf person. Providing training for Deaf leaders and Deaf missionaries is crucial.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to prepare and send out Deaf missionaries to Malaysia.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of Deaf people in Malaysia to respond to the gospel.
Pray for many Deaf to be healed as a testimony of God’s power and goodness.

Text Source:   Joshua Project