The COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia has had far-reaching social consequences on the country that went beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to eliminate it, including the registration of births, deaths and marriages, mass gatherings, education, and sports activities.
Animal welfare
On 25 June, The Sun Daily reported that animal shelters were facing financial difficulties while having to take care of numerous unwanted cats and dogs. The Lost Souls Animal Souls Shelter in Kuala Selangor had taken to growing organic vegetables in order to cover its operating expenses. Under the Animal Welfare Act, abandoning pet animals is an offense punishable by a fine of between RM20,000 and RM100,000 or a jail term of up to three years.
Births, marriages and deaths registrations
On 19 April 2020, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that registration of births and deaths during the movement control order (MCO) will be allowed to be delayed up to 90 days from the date the MCO ends. Ismail Sabri also announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs had decided that those who needed to replace their lost MyKad identity cards could make an appointment with local National Registration Department branches.
On 21 June 2020, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that couples whose marriage registration had been delayed as a result of the Movement Control Order could not complete the process at all permitted NGOs in the country including clan organisations, temples, churches, and religious bodies. On 22 June, Yaakob announced that the Government would announce on Wednesday (24 June) whether the ceremonies would be allowed soon.
Religious gatherings
Following the imposition of the Movement Control Order in March 2020, major Anglican and Catholic Masses in West Malaysia as well as in Sabah and Sarawak were postponed, while annual cultural events in Sabah such as the Kaamatan (Kadazan-Dusun festival) and Kalimaran (Murut festival) have been cancelled. Though Muslim Friday sermons (except for the state of Perlis on 13 March) were not suspended in the earlier stages of the pandemic, the Yang-di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia has called for shorter sermon and every mosques in the country must provide forehead thermometer, hand sanitiser and face masks as part of the prevention measures. A guidelines on Friday sermon has been released by the Religious Affairs Minister of Malaysia. Finally on 17 March, all mosque and suraus activities including Friday sermons and congregational prayers postponement were postponed by state authorities including Yang di-Pertuan Agong and state muftis. In addition, Malaysia's ethnic Chinese Qingming Festival was postponed while Hindu temple festivals and the Vaisakhi gatherings have been cancelled.
On 28 May, the Ministry of National Unity announced that a total of 174 non-Muslim houses of worship have been allowed to resume operations from 10 June according to the Standard Operating Procedure for Houses of Worship in Green Zones including having a maximum number of 30 worshipers, subject to the size of the premises. These house of worships include those under Fo Guang Shan; the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council, and the Federation of Taoist Associations Malaysia. Marriages at temples, churches, and religious associations have been postponed until 31 July 2020.
On 15 June, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that all 5,230 non-Muslim places of worship would be allowed to reopen but had to adhere to social distancing guidelines including taking one-third of their usual capacity and requiring attendees to download the MySejahtera application.
On 3 July, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri clarified that foreigners would not be allowed to attend congregational prayers at mosques and surau until the department had studied reports from the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department regarding the situation in mosques and surau.
Following a third wave of cases in the later half of 2020, several Christian faith communities including the Catholic Archdiocese in Kuala Lumpur, SIBKL, and Full Gospel moved their services and choirs online to Facebook, YouTube, and music apps.