Day 24
Malaysia
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, churches in Malaysia were allowed to celebrate Easter in person. COVID-19 restrictions in Malaysia were eased at the start of April which meant church services were allowed to go ahead. Praise the Lord for the joy this brought to many Christian Believers. Pray that many more Malaysians will come to know the all-powerful God who is at work in this nation despite the persecutions that Christians face. His wisdom is profound, and His power is vast (The Bible, Job 9:4).
Ismail Sabri Yaakob was recently appointed Prime Minister, the third in three years. Since the 2018 shock election victory over the coalition that had ruled the nation for the previous 60 years, the hoped-for changes were not forthcoming, and the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic attracted considerable criticism, resulting in political instability. Ethnic and religious divides characterize this nation. Fundamentalist Muslims carry a significant presence in Malaysia. Over the past decade, the government conducted widespread crackdowns to silence, harass and lock up hundreds of critics. It was found that authorities were behind the kidnapping of Christian pastors and outspoken activists in the last 5 years. The outspoken wife of Pastor Raymond Koh who was kidnapped and disappeared in February 2017, Susanna Liew, was named the International Woman of the Year in 2020 by the Annual International Women of Courage (IWOC) Awards.

Day 24
Libya
In a daring and outstanding rescue operation Brigade of the Government of National Unity freed 195 people, including 23 women and two children, from the grip of a criminal gang in central Libya. Such abductions happen in Libya for demand for ransom. The gang leader and the bandits were arrested and the freed persons will be given medical treatment. In another case, Tunisian fishermen who were detained at sea were released in Libya. Such detentions of the fishermen have become recurrent. Pray for the Libyans to encounter God’s awesome might as He is all-powerful to save them from their sins and give them peace. Pray for the Christian Believers in Libya to declare the greatness of God to multitudes of the people who need to know the Lord who reigns (The Bible, Revelation 19:6).
Sources:
https://www.libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/brigade-444-frees-195-people-kidnapped-“criminal-gang”
https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/24-tunisian-fishermen-released-libya
Libya is listed in 4th position in the World Watch report 2021 by Open Doors for Christian persecution. Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibeh is a Libyan politician who is the current Prime Minister of Libya’s interim Government of National Unity. Libya’s Presidential Council head Fayez al-Sarraj is ready to step down and pass his tasks and responsibilities to the new government to consolidate the principle of peaceful transition of power. The national general election is scheduled for December 2021. The situation for Christians in Libya changed drastically after the Gaddafi regime fell. The country fell into chaos, and weapons and Islamist ideologies flowed across the relaxed borders of Egypt. Islamist militia groups such as Ansar al-Sharia, the Nusra Front, and ISIS had firmly embedded themselves in Libya and begun to hunt down Christians. The world will never forget that on a beach ISIS beheaded Coptic Christians for their faith in Christ.
