Are Malays And Malaysians The Same?
Malays are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these sites – the Malay world. These areas are now part of Malaysia, Indonesia (eastern and southern Sumatra, the Bangka Belitung Islands, western coastal Borneo (Kalimantan), and the Riau Islands),…
Malays are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these sites – the Malay world. These areas are now part of Malaysia, Indonesia (eastern and southern Sumatra, the Bangka Belitung Islands, western coastal Borneo (Kalimantan), and the Riau Islands), Thailand’s southern half (Pattani, Satun, Songkhla, Yala, and Narathiwat), Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam.
Malaysia’s population is unevenly split between Peninsular and East Malaysia, with Peninsular Malaysia housing the great majority. The population is ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and religiously diverse. Within this variety, a substantial administrative division is created between indigenous peoples (including Malays), known as bumiputra, and immigration groups (mainly Chinese and South Asians), known as non-bumiputra.
Are Malays And Malaysians The Same?
Malays and Malaysians are not the same people. Peninsular Malaysians may be classified into four categories. These include the different Orang Asli (“Original People”) aboriginal peoples, the Malays, the Chinese, and the South Asians, in a sequence of arrival in the region. There are also a limited number of Europeans, Americans, Eurasians, Arabs, and Thais. The Orang Asli are the smallest ethnic group and are divided into the Jakun, who speak a Malay dialect, and the Semang and Senoi, who speak languages from the Mon-Khmer language family.
