Malaysian Christians must obey rules forbidding them from using the word "Allah", the country's leader was quoted saying Friday, breaking his silence in a festering row that has raised fears of religious conflict.

The comments by Prime Minister Najib Razak met with immediate dismay from Christians, who have called the issue an example of growing Islamic intolerance that threatens to tarnish the Muslim-majority country's moderate image.

Malaysia on Wednesday defended its rights record a day after Human Rights Watch accused the government of abandoning earlier promises of reform.

"Under Prime Minister Najib Razak, civil liberties have been expanded and outdated laws repealed," a Malaysian government spokesman said in a statement.

Malaysia took a "significant" step backwards in human rights in 2013, a year that appeared to mark the end of Prime Minister Najib Razak's promises of reform, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

The U.S.-headquartered organisation's annual report said Malaysia's rights situation deteriorated sharply after Najib's now 57-year-old ruling coalition was stung by a historic setback in elections in May.

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Monday he was "puzzled and shocked" over being barred entry to Japan, as his party questioned whether Malaysia's ruling coalition was behind the move.

Anwar said he arrived at Narita International Airport on a personal visit early Sunday and was told by immigration authorities he was barred because of his 1999 conviction for sodomy and corruption.

Malaysian Hindu devotee Karthi Gan grimaces while tapping his feet to the beat of ritual drums as two men plunge dozens of sharp hooks into his chest and back.

The painful ritual is Karthi's way of giving thanks to the Hindu deity Muruga as part of the country's colourful annual Thaipusam festival, one of the world's most extreme displays of religious devotion.

Malaysia and Turkey pledged Friday to wrap up a free-trade deal this year as embattled Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepared to return home to a political crisis.

Erdogan met with his host, Malaysian premier Najib Razak, on the final day of a week-long trip that earlier took him to Japan and Singapore.

Amnesty International accused Malaysia's government on Thursday of a "disturbing assault" on freedoms by banning a leading coalition of human rights groups.

Malaysia's Home Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday declaring the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs (COMANGO) illegal because the group and 39 of its 54 components were not registered with the government.

Thai authorities defused a makeshift car bomb found near a police station on the popular tourist island of Phuket, an official said Monday.

The device was found on Sunday after the authorities searched a suspicious vehicle left in the car park of a police station on the island.

Muslim rebels killed one man in a raid on a police station in the southern Philippines Friday to free two arrested comrades despite a ceasefire and peace talks with the government, officials said.

The attack in the city of Marawi came as government negotiators held talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Malaysia with the aim of finalizing a peace pact to end decades of fighting.

Floods in Malaysia caused by heavy rains have left a teenager dead and forced authorities to evacuate thousands of people, officials said Wednesday.

Some 19,000 people have been relocated to evacuation centers set up in schools in the east coast states of Pahang and Terengganu and Johor in the south, an official and news reports said.