The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is an ecumenical umbrella body in Malaysia that comprises the Council of Churches of Malaysia (mainline Protestants and Oriental Orthodox), National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (Evangelicals) and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia (Roman Catholic). Formed in 1985, the CFM brought together the major expressions of Christianity in Malaysia in a broad-based ecumenical body and a unified voice in dealing with the government as well as other religious and secular bodies in the country.
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Background
Ecumenical movements developed separately among the various expressions of Christianity in Malaysia with the Council of Churches of Malaysia being first established in 1947 amongst the mainline Protestant churches, followed by the organisation of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei for the Roman Catholic Church in 1964 and finally the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship in 1983 amongst the Evangelical Protestant churches. Prior to the organisation of the CFM, there was no single organisation that could claim to represent the Christian community as a whole in Malaysia when dealing with public matters that affected the community in the country.
On 6 February 1985, representatives from the three main ecumenical Christian organisations in the country formed the Christian Federation of Malaysia and the CFM was duly registered with the Malaysian government on 14 January 1986. To date, the CFM represents more than 90% of the churches in Malaysia.
Objectives
According to its constitution, the stated objectives of CFM are as follows :
Component members
The component members of the CFM are:
Chairpersons
The CFM has been led by representatives of various Christian denominations since its formation in 1985:
Organisation and work
The CFM has liaison committees established in each of Malaysia's states and Federal territories which liaises with the state authorities on issues affecting the Christian community in the respective states. These state committees also act as the Christian component of the states branches of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST).
Representation in the federal government
CFM through the MCCBCHST sits in the Committee for the Promotion of Understanding and Harmony among Religious Adherents under the aegis of the National Unity and Integration Department.
Representation in the state governments
CFM is also represented in the Committee for Affairs Other than Islam of the state of Selangor as well as the Advisory Committee for Non-Islamic Places of Worship of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
National Christian Conferences
The CFM organises periodic national conferences for the Christian community in Malaysia covering various contemporary issues facing the national Church. Nine such conferences were held from 1979 to 2014.
Advocacy
The CFM has also been very vocal in the advocacy of civil and religious rights, particularly those affecting the Christian community in Malaysia.
Recent cases include the advocacy of the right for Malaysian Christians to use the word "Allah" as part of their Malay liturgical language (the Allah Controversy), responding to the threat of violence against Christians and the Bible, engaging religious intolerance and the confiscation of the Malay translation of the Bible by state authorities.