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Malaysian Malays (Malaysian: Melayu Malaysia, Jawi: ملايو مليسيا) are Malaysians of Malay ethnicity whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in the Malay world. In 2015 population estimate, Malaysian Malays form 50.8% of the total population of Malaysia or 15.7 million people. They can be broadly classified into two main categories; Anak Jati (indigenous Malays or Malays proper) and Anak Dagang (trading Malays or foreign Malays).[2][3]

Malaysian Malays
Melayu Malaysia
ملايو مليسيا
Tarik upih pinang.jpg
Malay kids playing Tarik Upih Pinang, a traditional game that involves dragging the Palm frond.
Total population
50.8% of the Malaysian Population (2015)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Malaysian Malay (Varieties of Malay), English
Star and Crescent.svg Sunni islam
Related ethnic groups

The Malays proper consist of those individuals who adhere to the Malay culture native to the coastal areas of Malay peninsula and Borneo.[3] Among notable groups include the Bruneians, Kedahans, Kelantanese, Pahang, Perakians and Terengganuans. On the other hand, the foreign Malays consist of descendants of immigrants from other parts of Malay archipelago who became the citizens of the Malay sultanates and were absorbed and assimilated into Malay culture at different times, aided by similarity in lifestyle and common religion. A large number of foreign Malays or anak dagang have Acehnese, Banjar, Bugis, Javanese, Mandailing, and Minangkabau ancestries.[4][5] There are also a minority of Malays who are partially descended from more recent immigrants from many other countries who have assimilated into Malay Muslim culture.


Definition of a MalayEdit

The identification of Malay with Islam traces its origin to the 15th century when vigorous ethos of Malay identity were developed and transmitted during the time of Melaka Sultanate. Common definitive markers of a Malayness are thought to have been promulgated during this era, resulting in the ethnogenesis of the Malay as a major ethnoreligious group in the region. In literature, architecture, culinary traditions, traditional dress, performing arts, martial arts, and royal court traditions, Melaka set a standard that later Malay sultanates emulated.[6][7] Today, the most commonly accepted elements of Malayness; the Malay Rulers, Malay language and culture, and Islam, are institutionalised in both Malay majority countries, Brunei and Malaysia.[8][9][10][11] As a still fully functioning Malay sultanate, Brunei proclaimed Malay Islamic Monarchy as its national philosophy.[12] In Malaysia, where the supremacy of individual Malay sultanates and the position of Islam are preserved, a Malay identity is defined in Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia.

Article 160 defines a Malay as someone born to a Malaysian citizen who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs and is domiciled in Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei. This definition is perceived by some writers as loose enough to include people of a variety of ethnic backgrounds which basically can be defined as "Malaysian Muslims" and therefore differs from the anthropological understanding of what constitutes an ethnic Malay.[13] However, there exist Muslim communities in Malaysia with distinctive cultures and spoken languages, that cannot be categorised constitutionally as Malay. This include Muslim communities that have not fully embraced the Malayness like Tamil Muslims and Chinese Muslims.

This constitutional definition had firmly established the historical Malay ethnoreligious identity in Malaysian legal system,[13] where it has been suggested that a Malay cannot convert out of Islam as illustrated in the Federal Court decision in the case of Lina Joy.[14] As of 2010 census, Malays made up 50.1% of the population of Malaysia (including Malaysian-born or foreign-born people of Malay descent).



The Malay World, home of the various Malayic Austronesian tribes since the last Ice age (circa 15,000–10,000 BCE), exhibits fascinating ethnic,linguistic and cultural variations.[15] The indigenous Animistic belief system, which employed the concept of semangat (spirit) in every natural objects, was predominant among the ancient Malayic tribes before the arrival of Dharmic religions.[16] Deep in the estuary of the Merbok River, lies an abundance of historical relics that have unmasked several ceremonial and religious architectures devoted for the sun and mountain worshiping.[17][18][19] At its zenith, the massive settlement sprawled across a thousand kilometers wide, dominated in the northern plains of Malay Peninsular.[17][18] On contemporary account, the area is known as the lost city of Sungai Batu. Founded in 535 BC, it is the oldest testament of civilisation in Southeast Asia and a potential progenitor of the Kedah Tua kingdom. In addition to Sungai Batu, the coastal areas of Malay peninsular also witnessed the development of other subsequent ancient urban settlements and regional polities, driven by a predominantly cosmopolitan agrarian society, thriving skilled craftsmanship, multinational merchants and foreign expatriates. Chinese records noted the names of Akola, P’an P’an, Tun-Sun, Chieh-ch'a, Ch'ih-tu, Pohuang, Lang-ya-xiu among few. Upon the fifth century AD, these settlements had morphed into a sovereign city-states, collectively fashioned by an active participation in the international trade network and hosting diplomatic embassies from China and India.[17][18] Between the 7th and 13th centuries, many of these small, prosperous peninsula maritime trading states, became part of the mandala of Srivijaya,[20]

Portuguese illustration of Malays, 1540.

The Islamic faith arrived on the shores of Malay peninsula from around the 12th century.[21] The earliest archaeological evidence of Islam is the Terengganu Inscription Stone dating from the 14th century.[22] By the 15th century, the Melaka Sultanate, whose hegemony reached over much of the western Malay Archipelago, had become the centre of Islamisation in the east. Islamisation developed an ethnoreligious identity in Melaka with the term 'Melayu' then, begins to appear as interchangeable with Melakans, especially in describing the cultural preferences of the Melakans as against the foreigners.[6] It is generally believed that Malayisation intensified within Strait of Malacca region following the territorial and commercial expansion of the sultanate in the mid 15th century.[23] In 1511, the Melakan capital fell into the hands of Portuguese conquistadors. However, the sultanate remained an institutional prototype: a paradigm of statecraft and a point of cultural reference for successor states like Johor, Perak and Pahang.[24] In the same era, the sultanates of Kedah, Kelantan and Patani dominated the northern part of the Malay peninsula. Across the South China Sea, the Bruneian Empire became the most powerful polity in Borneo and reached its golden age in the mid-16th century when it controlled land as far south as present day Kuching in Sarawak, north towards the Philippine Archipelago.[25] By the 18th century, Minangkabau and Bugis settlers established the chiefdom of Negeri Sembilan and the sultanate of Selangor respectively.


Historically, Malay states of the peninsular had a hostile relation with the Siamese. Melaka herself fought two wars with the Siamese while northern Malay states came intermittently under Siamese dominance for centuries. From 1771, the Kingdom of Siam under the Chakri Dynasty annexed both Pattani and Kedah. Between 1808-1813, the Siamese partitioned Pattani into smaller states while carving out Setul, Langu, Kubang Pasu and Perlis from Kedah in 1839.[28][29] In 1786, the island of Penang was leased to East India Company by Kedah in exchange of military assistance against the Siamese. In 1819, the company also acquired Singapore from Johor Empire, later in 1824, Dutch Malacca from the Dutch, and followed by Dindings from Perak by 1874. All these trading posts officially known as Straits Settlements in 1826 and became the crown colony of British Empire in 1867. British intervention in the affairs of Malay states was formalised in 1895, when Malay rulers of Pahang, Selangor, Perak and Negeri Sembilan accepted British Residents and formed the Federated Malay States. In 1909, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis were handed over by Siam to the British. These states along with Johor, later became known as Unfederated Malay States. During the World War II, all these British possessions and protectorates that collectively known as British Malaya were occupied by the Empire of Japan.

Malay nationalism, which developed in the early 1900s, had a cultural rather than a political character. The discussions on a 'Malay nation' focussed on questions of identity and distinction in terms of customs, religion, and language, rather than politics. The debate surrounding the transition centred on the question of who could be called the real Malay, and the friction led to the emergence of various factions amongst Malay nationalists.[30] The leftists from Kesatuan Melayu Muda were among the earliest who appeared with an ideal of a Republic of Greater Indonesia for a Pan-Malay identity.[31] The version of Malayness brought by this group was largely modelled on the orientalist's concept of Malay race, that transcend the religious boundary and with the absent of the role of monarchy.[32] Another attempt to redefine the Malayness was made by a coalition of left wing political parties, the AMCJA, that proposed the term 'Melayu' as a demonym or citizenship for an independent Malaya. In the wake of the armed rebellion launched by the Malayan Communist Party, the activities of most left wing organizations came to a halt following the declaration of Malayan Emergency in 1948 that witnessed a major purges by the British colonial government.[33] This development left those of moderate and traditionalist faction, with an opportunity to gain their ground in the struggle for Malaya's independence.[34] The conservatives led by United Malays National Organization, that vehemently promoted Malay language, Islam and Malay monarchy as key pillars of Malayness, emerged with popular support not only from general Malay population, but also from the Rulers of the Conference of Rulers. Mass protests from this group against the Malayan Union, a unitary state project, forced the British to accept an alternative federalist order known as the Federation of Malaya.[15] The federation would later reconstituted as Malaysia in 1963.


Malay is the national language, and the most commonly spoken language in Malaysia, where it is estimated that 20 percent of all native speakers of Malay live.[35] The terminology as per federal government policy is Bahasa Malaysia (literally "Malaysian language")[36] but in the federal constitution continues to refer to the official language as Bahasa Melayu (literally "Malay language").[37] The National Language Act 1967 specifies the Latin (Rumi) script as the official script of the national language, but allow the use of the traditional Jawi script.[38] Jawi is still used in the official documents of state Islamic religious departments and councils, on road and building signs, and also taught in primary and religious schools. Malay is also spoken Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand. The total number of speakers of Standard Malay is about 60 million.[39] There are also about 198 million people who speak Indonesian, which is a form of Malay.[40] Standard Malay differs from Indonesian in a number of ways, the most striking being in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling. Less obvious differences are present in grammar. The differences are rarely a barrier to effective communication between Indonesian and Malay speakers, but there are certainly enough differences to cause occasional misunderstandings, usually surrounding slang or dialect differences.

The Malay language came into widespread use as the lingua franca of the Melaka Sultanate (1402–1511). During this period, the language developed rapidly under the influence of Islamic literature. The development changed the nature of the language with massive infusion of Arabic, Tamil and Sanskrit vocabularies, called Classical Malay. Under Melaka, the language evolved into a form recognisable to speakers of modern Malay. When the court moved to establish the Johor Sultanate, it continued using the classical language; it has become so associated with Dutch Riau and British Johor that it is often assumed that the Malay of Riau is close to the classical language. However, there is no connection between Melakan Malay as used on Riau and the Riau vernacular.[41] Variants of Malay in Malaysia differed by states, districts or even villages. The Melaka-Johor dialect, owing to its prominence in the past, became the standard speech among Malays in Singapore and Malaysia, and it formed the original basis for the standardised Indonesian language. There are also well known variants of Malayan languages that are mostly unintelligible to Standard Malay speakers including Terengganuan, Kelantanese, Pahang, Negeri Sembilanese, Sarawakian, Perakian, Kedahan and Bruneian (including a Bruneian-based pidgin Sabah Malay).


In Malaysia, state's constitution empowered Malay Rulers as the head of Islam and Malay customs in their respective state. State councils known as Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu (Council of Islam and Malay Customs) are responsible in advising the rulers as well as regulating both Islamic affairs and adat.[46][47] Legal proceedings on matters related to Islamic affairs and adat are carried out in Syariah Court. The traditional culture of Malaysian Malays is largely predominated by the indigenous Malay culture mixed with a variety of foreign influences. There is considerable genetic, linguistic, cultural, and social diversity among the many Malay subgroups as a result of hundreds of years of immigration and assimilation of various regional ethnicity and tribes within Maritime Southeast Asia. Malay cultures trace their origin from the early settlers that consist primarily from both various Malayic speaking Austronesians and various Austroasiatic tribes.[48] Around the opening of the common era, Dharmic religions were introduced to the region, where it flourished with the establishment of many ancient maritime trading states in the coastal areas of Malay peninsula and Borneo.[49][50] Much of the cultural identities originating from these ancient states survived among the modern east coast people (Kelantanese, Terengganuans, Pahangites, Pattani), northerners (Kedahans and Perakian), and Bruneians.[2]

Malayisation intensified with the spread of Islam and the expansion of Melaka Sultanate in the 15th century . The development of many Malay Muslim-dominated centres in the region, drew many of the non-Malay indigenous people like the Dayak, Orang Asli and the Orang laut, to embrace Malayness by converting to Islam, emulating the Malay speech and their dress.[51] Throughout their history, the Malays have been known as a coastal-trading community with fluid cultural characteristics.[52][53] They absorbed, shared and transmitted numerous cultural features of other foreign ethnic groups. Cultural fusion between local Malay culture and other foreign cultures also led to the ethnocultural development of the related Chitty, Jawi Peranakan, Kristang and Peranakan cultures. Today, some Malays have recent forebears from other parts of Maritime Southeast Asia, termed as anak dagang ("traders") or foreign Malays who have assimilated into the Malay culture. Among the earliest groups of these foreign Malays were of Minangkabau descent who had established themselves in Negeri Sembilan, as well as Bugis people who had formed Selangor Sultanate and domiciled in large numbers in Johor. Between 19th century and the early 20th century, significant number of immigrants from Java and Sumatra came as traders, settlers and indenture labours to Malaya. British census from 1911 to 1931 shows that many of the immigrants concentrated on the west coast of Malay peninsula and largely predominated by ethnic Javanese.[54] The process of adaptation and assimilation carried out by these ethnicities later gave birth to new Malay communities that retain close relationship with their cultural roots in Java and Sumatra until today.[55]

In 1971, the government created a "National Culture Policy", defining Malaysian culture. The three principles of the National Culture Policy are; Malaysian culture must be based on the indigenous culture of the region, that is the Malay culture, secondly it may incorporate suitable elements from other cultures, and lastly that Islam must play a part in it.[56] Much of Malaysian culture shows heavy influences from Malay culture, an example can be seen in the belief system, whereby the practice of Keramat shrine worshipping that prevalent among Malaysian Chinese, originates from the Malay culture. Other Malay cultural influence can also be seen in traditional dress, cuisine, literature, music, arts and architecture. Traditional Malay dress varies between different regions but the most popular dress in modern-day are Baju Kurung (for women) and Baju Melayu (for men), which both recognised as the national dress for Malaysia and Brunei.[57] Nasi lemak is probably is the most popular dish ubiquitous in Malay town and villages, and it is considered as Malaysia's national dish.[58] Many other Malay cultural heritage, are considered as Malaysian national heritage including Mak yong, Dondang Sayang, Mek Mulung, Menora, Asyik, Ulek mayang, Tenun Pahang Diraja, Sepak raga and Pantun.[59] The Malay literary tradition that flourished since the 15th century and various genres of Malay folklore also forms the basis of the modern Malaysian literature. The Malaysian music scene also witnessed strong influence from the Malay traditional music. One particularly important was the emergence of Irama Malaysia ('Malaysian beat'), a type of Malaysian pop music that combined Malay social dance and syncretic music such as joget, Inang, zapin, ghazal, and dikir barat.[60]


There is a community of Malaysian Malays who make up 20% of the total population of the Australian external territory of Christmas Island.[61]


Malays are the majority of the ethnic groups in Malaysia. Every state has population of Malays ranging from around 40% to over 90%, except for Sabah and Sarawak which are the only states where Malays are less than 30%. Figures given below are from the 2010 census, and 2015 numbers. The population figures are also given as percentages of the total state population that includes non-citizens.

State Population
2010[62] 2015*[1]
Johor 1,759,537 52.6% 1,893,100 53.2%
Kedah 1,460,746 75.0% 1,569,100 75.7%
Kelantan 1,426,373 92.6% 1,585,900 92.3%
Malacca 517,441 63.0% 552,700 63.3%
Negeri Sembilan 572,006 56.0% 621,900 56.6%
Pahang 1,052,774 70.1% 1,146,000 70.6%
Perak 1,238,357 52.6% 1,314,400 53.0%
Penang 636,146 40.7% 692,400 41.6%
Perlis 198,710 85.8% 210,200 85.4%
Sabah 184,197 5.7% 268,500 7.6%
Sarawak 568,113 23.0% 616,900 23.4%
Selangor 2,814,597 51.5% 3,069,100 52.2%
Terengganu 985,011 95.1% 1,092,200 94.7%
Kuala Lumpur 679,236 40.8% 729,500 41.3%
Labuan 30,001 34.5% 33,900 35.0%
Putrajaya 68,475 94.6% 83,800 94.9%
Malaysia total 14,191,720 50.1% 15,479,600 50.8%
  • 2015 Population estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred.

See alsoEdit


  2. ^ a b Mohd Hazmi Mohd Rosli; Rahmat Mohamad (5 June 2014). "Were the Malays immigrants?". The Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b Miller & Williams 2006, pp. 45-46
  4. ^ Gulrose Karim 1990, p. 74
  5. ^ Suad Joseph & Afsaneh Najmabadi 2006, p. 436
  6. ^ a b Barnard 2004, p. 4
  7. ^ Milner, Anthony (2010), The Malays (The Peoples of South-East Asia and the Pacific), Wiley-Blackwell, p. 230, ISBN 978-1-4443-3903-1
  8. ^ Azlan Tajuddin (2012), Malaysia in the World Economy (1824–2011): Capitalism, Ethnic Divisions, and "Managed" Democracy, Lexington Books, p. 94, ISBN 978-0-7391-7196-7
  9. ^ Khoo, Boo Teik; Loh, Francis (2001), Democracy in Malaysia: Discourses and Practices (Democracy in Asia), Routledge, p. 28, ISBN 978-0-7007-1161-1
  10. ^ Chong, Terence (2008), Globalization and Its Counter-forces in Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 60, ISBN 978-981-230-478-0
  11. ^ Hefner, Robert W. (2001), Politics of Multiculturalism: Pluralism and Citizenship in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, University of Hawaii Press, p. 184, ISBN 978-0-8248-2487-7
  12. ^ Benjamin, Geoffrey; Chou, Cynthia (2002), Tribal Communities in the Malay World: Historical, Cultural and Social Perspectives, London: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 55, ISBN 978-981-230-166-6
  13. ^ a b Frith, T. (1 September 2000). "Ethno-Religious Identity and Urban Malays in Malaysia" (fee required). Asian Ethnicity. Routledge. 1 (2): 117–129. doi:10.1080/713611705. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  14. ^ "Federal Court rejects Lina's appeal in a majority decision". The Star. 31 May 2007. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  15. ^ a b Hood Salleh 2011, p. 28
  16. ^ Zaki Ragman 2003, pp. 1–6
  17. ^ a b c Pearson 2015
  18. ^ a b c Hall 2017, p. 111
  19. ^ Mok, Opalyn (9 June 2017). "Archaeologists search for a king in Sungai Batu". The Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  20. ^ Sabrizain (2006). "Early Malay kingdoms". Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  21. ^ Hussin Mutalib 2008, p. 25
  22. ^ UNESCO (2001). "Batu Bersurat Terengganu (Inscribed Stone of Terengganu)". Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  23. ^ Andaya 2008, p. 200
  24. ^ Harper 2001, p. 15
  25. ^ Richmond 2007, p. 32
  26. ^ Tan 1988, p. 14
  27. ^ Chew 1999, p. 78
  28. ^ Andaya & Andaya 1984, pp. 62–68
  29. ^ Ganguly 1997, p. 204
  30. ^ Hood Salleh 2011, p. 29
  31. ^ Blackburn & Hack 2012, pp. 224–225
  32. ^ Barrington 2006, pp. 47–48
  33. ^ Blackburn & Hack 2012, pp. 224–225
  34. ^ Blackburn & Hack 2012, p. 227
  35. ^ Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. (2018). "Malay: A language of Malaysia". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twenty-first edition. SIL International. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  39. ^ Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. (2018). "Malay: A macrolanguage of Malaysia". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twenty-first edition. SIL International. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  40. ^ Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. (2018). "Indonesian: A language of Indonesia". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twenty-first edition. SIL International. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  42. ^ Colonial census used the term "Other Malaysians" to refer to other natives of Malay archipelago or the "foreign Malays". From 1957 onwards, all these different ethnicities were grouped into a single "Malay" category
  43. ^ Tengku Shamsul Bahrin 1967, p. 286
  44. ^ Tan 1982, p. 37
  45. ^ "Census population by state, Peninsular Malaysia, 1901–2010" (PDF). Economic History of Malaya: Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya. 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  46. ^ Peletz 1992, p. 119
  47. ^ Amineh Mehdi Parvizi 2010, pp. 96–97
  48. ^ Farish A Noor 2011, pp. 15–16
  49. ^ Milner 2010, pp. 24, 33
  50. ^ Barnard 2004, p. 7&60
  51. ^ Andaya & Andaya 1984, p. 50
  52. ^ Milner 2010, p. 131
  53. ^ Barnard 2004, pp. 7, 32, 33 & 43
  54. ^ Tengku Shamsul Bahrin 1967, pp. 272-280
  55. ^ L.Sunarti 2017
  56. ^ "National Culture Policy". National Department for Culture and Arts: Ministry of Tourism and Culture. 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  57. ^ Condra 2013, p. 465
  58. ^ Rules, Dwayne A. (7 April 2011). "Nasi lemak, our 'national dish'". The Star Online. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  59. ^ "Objek Warisan Tidak Ketara (Intangible Cultural Heritage)". Department of National Heritage: Ministry of Tourism and Culture. 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  60. ^ Tan, Matusky & Sooi 2004, p. 383