Ethnic Groups in Malaysia - Ethnicity - Bumiputras - Other Bumiputras

Other Bumiputras

Malaysia has many other non-Malay indigenous people, who are given Bumiputra status. The indigenous tribes are the oldest inhabitants of Malaysia, and the indigenous groups of Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia are collectively known as the "Orang Asal". They account for about 5 percent of the total population, and represent a majority in East Malaysia of Sabah and Sarawak. In Sarawak, the dominant tribal groups are the Dayak, who are either Iban or Bidayuh. The Iban of form the largest of all indigenous groups, numbering over 600,000 (30% of Sarawak's population) and some of who still live in traditional longhouses which can hold up to 200 people. Longhouses are mostly places along the Rajang and Lupar rivers and their tributaries, although many Iban have moved to the cities. The Bidayuhs, numbering around 170,000, are concentrated in the southwestern part of Sarawak. They, together with other indigenous groups in Sarawak make up over half of the states population.

The largest indigenous tribe in Sabah is the Kadazan, most of whom are Christians and rice farmers. They live as substinence farmers. Sabah's has a large amount of indigenous people, 18% of the population are Kadazan-Dusuns, and 17% are Bajaus).

There also exist aboriginal groups in much smaller numbers on the peninsula, where they are collectively known as Orang Asli (literally meaning "original person"). The 140,000 Orang Asli comprise a number of different ethnic communities. Many tribes, both on the peninsula and in Borneo, were traditionally nomadic or semi-nomadic hunter—gatherers, including the Punan, Penan and Senoi. However, their ancestral land and hunting grounds are commonly reclaimed by the state, shifting them to inferior land and sometimes pushing them out of their traditional way of life. The most numerous of the Orang Asli are called Negritos and are related to native Papuans in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and possibly even to aborigines in Australia. Other bumiputra minorities include Malaysian Siamese, Khmers, Chams, and Burmese.