109-481: Malaysians ( Malay : Orang Malaysia ; Jawi : أورڠ مليسيا ) are citizens who are identified with the country of Malaysia . Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents may also claim a Malaysian identity. The country is home to people of various national , ethnic and religious origins. As a result, many Malaysians do not equate their nationality with ethnicity , but with citizenship and allegiance to Malaysia. Majority of
218-630: A Bruneian-based pidgin Sabah Malay ). Total: 1826307 In Malaysia, the 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 Malay adat . Legal proceedings on matters related to Islamic affairs and Malay adat are carried out in Syariah Court . There
327-485: 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
436-608: A close relationship with their cultural roots in Java and Sumatra until today. 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
545-994: A community of Malaysian Malays who make up 20% of the total population of the Australian external territory of Christmas Island . The Anak Jati groups consist of all Malay subgroups native to the Malay Peninsula and coastal areas of Sabah and Sarawak. The following are among the major subgroups: Other than the Anak Jati or indigenous Malays, there are Malay communities in Malaysia with full or partial ancestry of other ethnicities of Maritime Southeast Asia . The communities, collectively termed as Anak Dagang or traders or foreign Malays, are descendants of immigrants from various ethnicities like Acehnese , Banjarese , Boyanese , Bugis , Chams , Javanese , Minangkabaus , and Tausugs who have effectively assimilated into
654-620: A descendant of the Proto-Austronesian language , began to break up by at least 2000 BCE, possibly as a result of the southward expansion of Austronesian peoples into Maritime Southeast Asia from the island of Taiwan . The history of the Malay language can be divided into five periods: Old Malay, the Transitional Period, the Classical Malay, Late Modern Malay and Modern Malay. Old Malay is believed to be
763-527: A lingua franca derived from Classical Malay as well as Makassar Malay , which appears to be a mixed language . Malay historical linguists agree on the likelihood of the Malayic homeland being in western Borneo . A form known as Proto-Malayic was spoken in Borneo at least by 1000 BCE, it has been argued to be the ancestral language of all subsequent Malayic languages . Its ancestor, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ,
872-543: A long period. The studies indicate that there is no single representative genetic component, rather there are four major ancestral components to the Malay people: Austronesian aborigines, Proto-Malay, East Asian, and South Asian, with the Austronesian and Proto-Malay components comprising 60–70% of the genome. The Austronesian component is related to the Taiwanese Ami and Atayal people, and genetic analyses of
981-555: A mid vowel [e, o] . Orthographic note : both /e/ and /ə/ are written with ⟨e⟩ . Orthographic /e, o/ are relatively rare, so the letter ⟨e⟩ usually represents /ə/ . There are some homographs; for example, perang is used for both /pəraŋ/ "war" and /peraŋ ~ piraŋ/ "blond". (In Indonesia, "blond" may be written perang or pirang .) Some analyses regard /ai, au, oi/ as diphthongs. However, [ai] and [au] can only occur in open syllables, such as cukai ("tax") and pulau ("island"). Words with
1090-442: A part in it. 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
1199-434: A phonetic diphthong in a closed syllable, such as baik ("good") and laut ("sea"), are actually two syllables. An alternative analysis therefore treats the phonetic diphthongs [ai] , [au] and [oi] as a sequence of a monophthong plus an approximant: /aj/ , /aw/ and /oj/ respectively. There is a rule of vowel harmony : the non-open vowels /i, e, u, o/ in bisyllabic words must agree in height, so hidung ("nose")
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#17327649787071308-431: A root word ( affixation ), formation of a compound word (composition), or repetition of words or portions of words ( reduplication ). Nouns and verbs may be basic roots, but frequently they are derived from other words by means of prefixes , suffixes and circumfixes . Malay does not make use of grammatical gender , and there are only a few words that use natural gender; the same word is used for 'he' and 'she' which
1417-508: A standard that later Malay sultanates emulated. 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 . As a still fully functioning Malay sultanate, Brunei proclaimed Malay Islamic Monarchy as its national philosophy. In Malaysia, where the sovereignty of individual Malay sultanates and
1526-514: 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 . However, there exist Muslim communities in Malaysia with distinctive cultures and spoken languages that cannot be categorised constitutionally as Malay. These include Muslim communities that have not fully embraced Malayness, like Tamil Muslims and Chinese Muslims . This constitutional definition had firmly established
1635-402: Is dia or for 'his' and 'her' which is dia punya . There is no grammatical plural in Malay either; thus orang may mean either 'person' or 'people'. Verbs are not inflected for person or number, and they are not marked for tense; tense is instead denoted by time adverbs (such as 'yesterday') or by other tense indicators, such as sudah 'already' and belum 'not yet'. On the other hand, there
1744-631: Is pluricentric and a macrolanguage , i.e., several varieties of it are standardized as the national language ( bahasa kebangsaan or bahasa nasional ) of several nation states with various official names: in Malaysia, it is designated as either Bahasa Malaysia (" Malaysian ") or also Bahasa Melayu ("Malay language"); in Singapore and Brunei, it is called Bahasa Melayu ("Malay language"); in Indonesia, an autonomous normative variety called Bahasa Indonesia (" Indonesian language ")
1853-456: Is a complex system of verb affixes to render nuances of meaning and to denote voice or intentional and accidental moods . Malay does not have a grammatical subject in the sense that English does. In intransitive clauses, the noun comes before the verb. When there is both an agent and an object , these are separated by the verb (OVA or AVO), with the difference encoded in the voice of the verb. OVA, commonly but inaccurately called "passive",
1962-430: Is allowed but * hedung is not. Pronunciation Pronunciation Pronunciation Study by Uri Tadmor which was published in 2003 shows that mutation of ⟨a⟩ in final open syllable is an areal feature. Specifically, it is an areal feature of Western Austronesia. Uri Tadmor classify those types into four groups as below. Malay is an agglutinative language , and new words are formed by three methods: attaching affixes onto
2071-503: Is also spoken Brunei , Indonesia , Singapore , Timor Leste as well as Thailand and Australian Cocos and Christmas Islands. The total number of speakers of Standard Malay is about 60 million. There are also about 198 million people who speak Indonesian , which is a form of Malay. 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
2180-744: Is close to the classical language. However, there is no connection between Melakan Malay as used on Riau and the Riau vernacular. 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 Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. There are also well-known variants of Malayan languages that are mostly unintelligible to Standard Malay speakers including Kelantanese , Terengganuan , Pahangite , Kedahan (including Perlisian and Penangite), Perakian , Negeri Sembilanese , Sarawakian , and Bruneian (including
2289-472: 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 Southeast Asia . Malay cultures trace their origin from the early settlers that consist primarily from both various Malayic speaking Austronesians and various Austroasiatic tribes. Around
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#17327649787072398-406: Is designated the bahasa persatuan/pemersatu ("unifying language" or lingua franca ) whereas the term "Malay" ( bahasa Melayu ) is domestically restricted to vernacular varieties of Malay indigenous to areas of Central to Southern Sumatra and West Kalimantan . Classical Malay , also called Court Malay, was the literary standard of the pre-colonial Malacca and Johor Sultanates and so
2507-482: Is divided into Bornean and Sumatran Malay; some of the most widely spoken Sumatran Malay dialects are Riau Malay , Langkat , Palembang Malay and Jambi Malay . Minangkabau , Kerinci and Bengkulu are believed to be Sumatran Malay descendants. Meanwhile, the Jakarta dialect (known as Betawi ) also belongs to the western Malay group. The eastern varieties, classified either as dialects or creoles , are spoken in
2616-414: Is largely predominated by the indigenous Malay culture mixed with a variety of foreign influences. As opposed to other regional Malays, the southern Malays (Selangoreans, Negeri Sembilanese, Melakans and Johoreans) display the cultural legacy of the Melaka sultanate . Common definitive markers of Malayness – the religion of Islam , Malay language and Malay adat – are thought to have been promulgated in
2725-477: Is made up of immigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of Portuguese, Dutch and then significantly longer British colonisation, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non- indigenous peoples took place over the course of nearly five centuries and continue today. Malayan independence from the United Kingdom in 1957 grew gradually over the course of latter part of
2834-634: Is most unlikely to see similar immigration pattern in the past in Malaya. Because of their relatively small population and their close and strong cultural and ethnic relationships with the indigenous Malays, within decades, most of these Indonesian immigrants were effectively assimilated into the Malay identity . In more recent times, during the Vietnam War , a sizable number of Chams migrated to Peninsular Malaysia , where they were granted sanctuary by
2943-623: Is not a tonal language . The consonants of Malaysian and also Indonesian are shown below. Non-native consonants that only occur in borrowed words, principally from Arabic, Dutch and English, are shown in brackets. Orthographic note : The sounds are represented orthographically by their symbols as above, except: Loans from Arabic : Malay originally had four vowels, but in many dialects today, including Standard Malay, it has six, with /i/ split into /i, e/ and /u/ split into /u, o/ . Many words are commonly pronounced variably, with either [i, u] or [e, o] , and relatively few words require
3052-451: Is not readily intelligible with the standard language , and the same is true with some lects on the Malay Peninsula such as Kedah Malay . However, both Brunei and Kedah are quite close. Malay is now written using the Latin script , known as Rumi in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore or Latin in Indonesia, although an Arabic script called Arab Melayu or Jawi also exists. Latin script
3161-595: Is official in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Malay uses Hindu-Arabic numerals . Rumi (Latin) and Jawi are co-official in Brunei only. Names of institutions and organisations have to use Jawi and Rumi (Latin) scripts. Jawi is used fully in schools, especially the religious school, sekolah agama , which is compulsory during the afternoon for Muslim students aged from around 6–7 up to 12–14. Efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve Jawi in Malaysia, and students taking Malay language examinations in Malaysia have
3270-521: Is similar to Kelantanese Malay, but the language has no official status or recognition. Owing to earlier contact with the Philippines , Malay words—such as dalam hati (sympathy), luwalhati (glory), tengah hari (midday), sedap (delicious)—have evolved and been integrated into Tagalog and other Philippine languages . By contrast, Indonesian has successfully become the lingua franca for its disparate islands and ethnic groups, in part because
3379-682: Is the basic and most common word order. The Malay language has many words borrowed from Arabic (in particular religious terms), Sanskrit , Tamil , certain Sinitic languages , Persian (due to historical status of Malay Archipelago as a trading hub), and more recently, Portuguese , Dutch and English (in particular many scientific and technological terms). There is a group of closely related languages spoken by Malays and related peoples across Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore , Southern Thailand , Kampung Alor in East Timor , and
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3488-525: Is the lack of possessive pronouns (and suffixes) in eastern dialects. Manado uses the verb pe and Ambon pu (from Malay punya 'to have') to mark possession. So 'my name' and 'our house" are translated in western Malay as namaku and rumah kita but kita pe nama and torang pe rumah in Manado and beta pu nama , katong pu rumah in Ambon dialect. The pronunciation may vary in western dialects, especially
3597-467: Is the official language, while English is considered the de facto language for business. The Bumiputeras speak various Austronesian and Austroasiatic languages as well as smaller language families such as Tai-Kadai and Creoles . Chinese Malaysians predominantly speak varieties of Chinese from the southern provinces of China. The more common varieties in the country are Cantonese , Mandarin , Hokkien , Hakka , Teochew , Hainanese, and Fuzhou. Tamil
3706-627: Is the predominant among Indian Malaysians, though languages like Telugu , Malayalam and Punjabi are also spoken. The Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of religion while making Islam the state religion. According to the Population and Housing Census 2010 figures, ethnicity and religious beliefs correlate highly. Approximately 61.3% of the population practice Islam , 19.8% practice Buddhism , 9.2% Christianity , 6.3% Hinduism and 1.3% practice Confucianism , Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions . 0.7% declared no religion and
3815-658: 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. This development left those of moderate and traditionalist faction, with an opportunity to gain their ground in
3924-624: The Cham alphabet are used by the Chams of Vietnam and Cambodia . Old Malay was written using Pallava and Kawi script, as evident from several inscription stones in the Malay region. Starting from the era of kingdom of Pasai and throughout the golden age of the Malacca Sultanate, Jawi gradually replaced these scripts as the most commonly used script in the Malay region. Starting from the 17th century, under Dutch and British influence, Jawi
4033-478: The Chams of Indochina, Cocos Malays of Australian Cocos (Keeling) Islands as well as the Patani Malays of southern Thailand. There is also a minority of Malays who are partially descended from more recent immigrants from many other countries who have assimilated into Malay Muslim culture . The identification of Malay with Islam traces its origin to the 15th century, when vigorous ethos of Malay identity
4142-594: The Federated Malay States and recorded a total of 20,307 Indonesians. At the same time, the state of Johor under Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim (1841–1855) encouraged the migration of estate labourers from Java to work in the agricultural sector of the state. Such policy was continued under the rule of his son, Abu Bakar . As a result, in the first Malayan-wide census in 1911, Johor recorded the largest Indonesian population, 37,000 from overall 117,600 Indonesians in Malaya. Between 1911 and 1957 censuses,
4251-526: 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
4360-438: The Malay world . According to the 2023 population estimate, with a total population of 17.6 million, Malaysian Malays form 57.9% of Malaysia's demographics, the largest ethnic group in the country. They can be broadly classified into two main categories; Anak Jati (indigenous Malays or local Malays) and Anak Dagang (trading Malays or foreign Malays). The Anak Jati or native Malays consist of those individuals who adhere to
4469-586: The Malaysian government out of sympathy for fellow Muslims; most of them have also assimilated with the Malay cultures. Studies on the genetics of modern Malays show a complex history of admixture of human populations. The analyses reveal that the Malays are genetically diverse, and that there are substantial variations between different populations of Malays. The differences may have arisen from geographical isolation and independent admixture that occurred over
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4578-515: The 15th century and various genres of Malay folklore also forms the basis of the modern Malaysian literature and folklore . 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 Asli, Inang , Joget , Zapin , Ghazal , Bongai , Dikir Barat , Boria , Keroncong and Rodat . Malays are
4687-463: The 19th century and the early 20th century, a 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 the Malay Peninsula and largely predominated by ethnic Javanese . The process of adaptation and assimilation carried out by these ethnicities later gave birth to new Malay communities that retain
4796-596: The 19th century, the growth in arrivals of Indonesians coincided with the consolidation of British influence in Malaya . This was a period of extensive economic growth which saw economic centres in the Straits Settlements and their neighbouring West Coast States of central and southern Malaya, became the main destination of immigrants. In 1824, the Indonesian immigrant population began to be enumerated for
4905-711: The 2000s were not born in Malaysian soil. It is estimated, by 2031, nearly one-half of Malaysians above the age of 15 will be foreign born or have one foreign born parent. Bumiputera , according to the 2010 Malaysian Census , numbered at 17,523,508 or 61.85% of the country's 28,334,135 population. The Malaysian diaspora has a population of 1,730,152 in 2019, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs . Malaysia does not keep track of emigration and counts of Malaysians abroad are thus only available courtesy of statistics kept by
5014-675: The 20th century since the formation of the Federation of Malaya in 1948 (excluding Crown Colony of Singapore , Crown Colony of North Borneo and Crown Colony of Sarawak ). World War II in particular gave rise to a desire amongst Malayans to have their country recognised as a fully-fledged sovereign state with a distinct citizenship. As of 2010, Malaysians make up 0.4% of the world's total population , having relied upon immigration for population growth and social development. Approximately 30% of current Malaysians are first- or second-generation immigrants, and 20 percent of Malaysian residents in
5123-603: The Austronesian component in Southeast Asians may lend support to the "Out of Taiwan" hypothesis, although some suggest that it is largely indigenous with a smaller contribution from Taiwan. The Proto-Malays such as the Temuan people show genetic evidence of having moved out of Yunnan , China, thought to be about 4,000–6,000 years ago. The admixture events with South Asians (Indians) may have been ancient (estimate of up to 2,250 years ago in some Indonesian Malays), while
5232-431: The British to accept an alternative federalist order known as the Federation of Malaya . The federation would later be 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. The terminology as per federal government policy is Bahasa Malaysia (literally "Malaysian language") but in
5341-679: The Department of Statistics, Malaysia and other government agencies. For the purpose of tabulation and analysis, as well as taking into account the diverse ethnic group in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Federal Territory of Labuan and Sarawak, major ethnic groups according to region as follows: Malay Malay Kadazan-Dusun Bajau Murut Malay Iban Bidayuh Orang Ulu Melanau Other Bumiputera Other Malays / Anak Dagang Indonesian Non-Bumiputera Chinese Indian Others Information collected in
5450-465: The Indonesian population in Malaya stood between 8.6% to 14.5% of total number of Malays, numerically inferior to those native peninsula Malays in the north and eastern states. In individual States during the 1911—1957 period, the Indonesian population had exceeded 50% of the total Malays only in 1931, in Johor. After 1957, due to stricter government controls on the movements of Indonesians into Malaya, it
5559-532: The Malay Peninsula itself, the Malays are differentiated genetically into distinct clusters between the northern part of the Malay Peninsula and the south. SNP analyses of five of their sub-ethnic groups show that Melayu Kelantan and Melayu Kedah (both in the northern Malay Peninsula) are closely related to each other as well as to Melayu Patani , but are distinct from Melayu Minang (western), Melayu Jawa and Melayu Bugis (both southern). The Melayu Minang, Melayu Jawa and Melayu Bugis people show close relationship with
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#17327649787075668-871: The Malay culture native to the coastal areas of Malay Peninsula and Borneo. Among notable groups include the Bruneians , Kedahans , Kelantanese , Pahangite , Perakians , Sarawakians and Terengganuans . On the other hand, the Anak Dagang or 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. The foreign Malays have Acehnese , Banjarese , Buginese , Javanese , Mandailing and Minangkabau ancestries that come from Indonesia . Some foreign Malays may also come from other parts of Southeast Asia, that includes
5777-404: The Malay world of Southeast Asia, and was one of the oldest testimonies to the advent of Islam as a state religion in the region. It contains the proclamation issued by a ruler of Terengganu known as Seri Paduka Tuan, urging his subjects to extend and uphold Islam and providing 10 basic Sharia laws for their guidance. The classical Malay language came into widespread use as the lingua franca of
5886-952: The Malayic languages spoken by the Orang Asli ( Proto-Malay ) in Malaya . They are Jakun , Orang Kanaq , Orang Seletar , and Temuan . The other Malayic languages, included in neither of these groups, are associated with the expansion of the Malays across the archipelago. They include Riau-Johor Malay ( Malaysian and Indonesian ), Kedah Malay , Kedayan/Brunei Malay , Berau Malay , Bangka Malay , Jambi Malay , Kutai Malay , Natuna Malay, Riau Malay , Loncong , Pattani Malay , and Banjarese . Menterap may belong here. There are also several Malay-based creole languages , such as Betawi , Cocos Malay , Makassar Malay , Ambonese Malay , Dili Malay , Kupang Malay , Manado Malay , Papuan Malay , Pattani Malay , Satun Malay , Songkhla Malay , Bangkok Malay , and Sabah Malay , which may be more or less distinct from standard (Malaccan) Malay. Due to
5995-630: 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 Patani and Kedah . Between 1808 and 1813, the Siamese partitioned Patani into smaller states while carving out Setul , Langu, Kubang Pasu and Perlis from Kedah in 1839. In 1786, the island of Penang was leased to East India Company by Kedah in exchange of military assistance against
6104-550: 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
6213-681: The actual ancestor of Classical Malay. Old Malay was influenced by Sanskrit, the classical language of India . Sanskrit loan words can be found in Old Malay vocabulary. The earliest known stone inscription in the Old Malay language was found in Sumatra , Indonesia, written in the Pallava variety of the Grantha alphabet and is dated 1 May 683. Known as the Kedukan Bukit inscription , it
6322-532: The admixture events with East Asians (Chinese) may be more recent (100–200 years ago), although some may have occurred before the 15th century in Java. There are also minor components contributed by other groups such as the Negritos (the earliest inhabitants of the Malay Peninsula), Central Asians and Europeans. Most of the admixture events are estimated to have occurred 175 to 1,500 years ago. Within
6431-493: The census including ethnic group and citizenship was based on respondent's answer and did not refer to any official document. Information on citizenship should be used with caution as it is subject to content and coverage errors especially for non-citizens as in censuses in most countries. Malaysia contains speakers of 137 living languages, 41 of which are found in Peninsula Malaysia. Malaysian , or Standard Malay,
6540-409: The coastal areas of the Malay Peninsula 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
6649-555: The colonial language, Dutch, is no longer commonly spoken. (In East Timor , which was governed as a province of Indonesia from 1976 to 1999, Indonesian is widely spoken and recognized under its Constitution as a 'working language'.) Besides Indonesian , which developed from the Riau Malay dialect, there are many Malay varieties spoken in Indonesia; they are divided into western and eastern groups. Western Malay dialects are predominantly spoken in Sumatra and Borneo , which itself
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#17327649787076758-747: The constitution as one of two working languages (the other being English ), alongside the official languages of Tetum and Portuguese . The extent to which Malay is used in these countries varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Malay is the national language in Malaysia by Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia , and became the sole official language in Peninsular Malaysia in 1968 and in East Malaysia gradually from 1974. English continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in
6867-465: 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 closer connection between Malaccan Malay as used on Riau and the Riau vernacular. Among the oldest surviving letters written in Malay are
6976-404: The destination countries. The diaspora includes both descendants of early emigrants from Malaysia, as well as more recent emigrants from Malaysia. Since independence, a total of 688,766 naturalised foreigners had been granted Malaysian citizenship while 10,828 individuals had their citizenships revoked. The community of Malaysians in Australian external territory of Christmas Island makes up
7085-463: The earliest who appeared with an ideal of a Republic of Greater Indonesia for a Pan-Malay identity . 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 absence of the role of monarchy. Another attempt to redefine the Malayness was made by a coalition of left wing political parties,
7194-459: 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. The leftists from Kesatuan Melayu Muda were among
7303-486: The early settlement of a Cape Malay community in Cape Town , who are now known as Coloureds , numerous Classical Malay words were brought into Afrikaans . The extent to which Malay and related Malayan languages are used in the countries where it is spoken varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Malay is the national language in Malaysia by Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia , and became
7412-474: The eastern part of the Malay or Nusantara archipelago and include Makassar Malay , Manado Malay , Ambonese Malay , North Moluccan Malay , Kupang Malay , Dili Malay , and Papuan Malay . The differences among both groups are quite observable. For example, the word kita means 'we, us' in western, but means 'I, me' in Manado, whereas 'we, us" in Manado is torang and Ambon katong (originally abbreviated from Malay kita orang 'we people'). Another difference
7521-792: The ethnocultural development of the related Arab Peranakan , Baba Nyonya , Chetti Melaka , Jawi Pekan , Kristang , Sam-sam and Punjabi 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. Other significant population of foreign Malays also includes Acehnese in Kedah , Banjarese and Mandailing in Perak , Chams and Patani Malays in Kelantan and Terengganu as well as Cocos Malays in Sabah. Between
7630-590: The far southern parts of the Philippines . They have traditionally been classified as Malay, Para-Malay, and Aboriginal Malay, but this reflects geography and ethnicity rather than a proper linguistic classification. The Malayic languages are mutually intelligible to varying extents, though the distinction between language and dialect is unclear in many cases. Para-Malay includes the Malayic languages of Sumatra . They are: Minangkabau , Central Malay (Bengkulu), Pekal , Talang Mamak , Musi (Palembang), Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia), and Duano’ . Aboriginal Malay are
7739-473: The federal constitution continues to refer to the official language as Bahasa Melayu (literally "Malay language"). 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 . 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
7848-407: 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. Between the 7th and 13th centuries, many of these small, prosperous peninsula maritime trading states, became part of the mandala of Srivijaya , The Islamic faith arrived on
7957-550: The first time by the British administration in the Straits Settlements. By 1871, the Indonesian population in the Straits Settlements was recorded at 12,143, mostly can be found in Singapore , with Javanese was the most numerous ethnicity. Despite this, the Indonesian population was considerably small, and their growth was slow compared to their Chinese counterparts. In 1891, the census area began to be extended to
8066-521: The highlands of Sumatra , Indonesia . Terengganu Inscription Stone (Malay: Batu Bersurat Terengganu ; Jawi: باتو برسورت ترڠݢانو) is a granite stele carrying inscription in Jawi script that was found in Terengganu, Malaysia is the earliest evidence of classical Malay inscription. The inscription, dated possibly to 702 AH (corresponds to 1303 CE), constituted the earliest evidence of Jawi writing in
8175-498: The historical Malay ethnoreligious identity in the Malaysian legal system, 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 . As of the 2023, Malays made up 57.9% 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
8284-560: The language is sometimes called Malacca, Johor or Riau Malay (or various combinations of those names) to distinguish it from the various other Malayic languages . According to Ethnologue 16, several of the Malayic varieties they currently list as separate languages, including the Orang Asli varieties of Peninsular Malay , are so closely related to standard Malay that they may prove to be dialects. There are also several Malay trade and creole languages (e.g. Ambonese Malay ) based on
8393-643: The languages' words for kinship, health, body parts and common animals. Numbers, especially, show remarkable similarities. Within Austronesian, Malay is part of a cluster of numerous closely related forms of speech known as the Malayic languages , which were spread across Malaya and the Indonesian archipelago by Malay traders from Sumatra. There is disagreement as to which varieties of speech popularly called "Malay" should be considered dialects of this language, and which should be classified as distinct Malay languages. The vernacular of Brunei— Brunei Malay —for example,
8502-546: The last Ice age (circa 15,000–10,000 BCE), exhibits fascinating ethnic, linguistic and cultural variations. 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 . Deep in the estuary of the Merbok River , lies an abundance of historical relics that have unmasked several ceremonial and religious architectures devoted for
8611-460: The letters from Sultan Abu Hayat of Ternate , Maluku Islands in present-day Indonesia , dated around 1521–1522. The text is addressed to the king of Portugal , following contact with Portuguese explorer Francisco Serrão . The letters show sign of non-native usage; the Ternateans used (and still use) the unrelated Ternate language , a West Papuan language , as their first language . Malay
8720-462: The local Malay culture . From the 17th century, Bugis mercenaries and merchants involved in both commercial and political ventures in the Malay sultanates, later establishing their main settlements along Klang and Selangor estuaries. Another case of in-movements was the migration of Minangkabau peoples to Negeri Sembilan . The resulting intermarriages between the Minangkabau immigrants and
8829-399: The majority of the ethnic groups in Malaysia. Every state has a 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 2023 census, and 2020 numbers. The population figures are also given as percentages of the total state population that includes non-citizens. There is
8938-568: The majority of the population, while Singapore has the largest minority community of Malaysians , with 952,261 people, followed by Australia , the United Kingdom and the United States . Classification of 2010 Census ethnic group is as set by Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) in Appendix 1. IATC is a committee formed to co-ordinate and monitor the implementation and use of standardised codes, classifications and definitions used by
9047-597: The mid-16th century when it controlled land as far south as present day Kuching in Sarawak , north towards the Philippine Archipelago . 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 peninsula had hostile relations with the Siamese . Melaka herself fought two wars with
9156-462: The most popular dress in modern-day are Baju Kurung and Baju Kebaya (for women) and Baju Melayu (for men), which all recognised as the national dress of Malaysia . Many other Malay cultural heritage, are considered as Malaysian national heritage including Mak Yong , Dondang Sayang , Silat , Pantun , Songket , Mek Mulung , Kris , Wayang Kulit , Batik , Pinas and Gamelan . The classical Malay literature tradition that flourished since
9265-512: The native Proto-Malay Temuan peoples, gave birth to a Malay community in Negeri Sembilan that adopted extensively the indigenous customary law or Adat Benar and traditional political organization. Apart from being described as bilateral in nature, the earlier movements of peoples involving the Malay Peninsula, can be described as small in extent, with no other evidence of mass migration that caused significant demographic change. In
9374-478: The nature of the language with massive infusion of Arabic 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
9483-536: The non-Malay indigenous people like the Dayak , Orang Asli and Orang laut , to embrace Malayness by converting to Islam, emulating the Malay speech and their dress. Throughout their history, the Malays have been known as a coastal-trading community with fluid cultural characteristics. They absorbed , shared and transmitted numerous cultural features of other foreign ethnic groups. The cultural fusion between local Malay culture and other foreign cultures also led to
9592-505: 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 the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. Much of the cultural identities originating from these ancient states survived among the east coasters ( Kelantanese , Terengganuans , Pahangites ), northerners ( Kedahans and Perakians ), and Bornean ( Bruneians and Sarawakians ). The traditional culture of Malaysian Malays
9701-431: The option of answering questions using Jawi. The Latin script, however, is the most commonly used in Brunei and Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes. Historically, Malay has been written using various scripts. Before the introduction of Arabic script in the Malay region, Malay was written using the Pallava , Kawi and Rencong scripts; these scripts are no longer frequently used, but similar scripts such as
9810-540: The people of Indonesia, evidence of their shared common ancestry with these people. However, Melayu Minang are closer genetically to Melayu Kelantan and Melayu Kedah than they are to Melayu Jawa. Among the Melayu Kelantan and Melayu Kedah populations, there are significant Indian components, in particular from the Telugus and Marathis . The Melayu Kedah and Melayu Kelantan also have closer genetic relationship to
9919-400: The population, however, belong to several clearly defined racial groups within the country with their own distinct cultures and traditions: Malays , Orang Asli (aboriginal population), Malaysian Chinese (primarily Han Chinese and Peranakans ), Malaysian Indians (primarily South Asian Tamils and Chitty ). The majority of the non-Malay and non-aboriginal population in modern Malaysia
10028-535: 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
10137-750: The pronunciation of words ending in the vowel 'a'. For example, in some parts of Malaysia and in Singapore, kita (inclusive 'we, us, our') is pronounced as /kitə/ , in Kelantan and Southern Thailand as /kitɔ/ , in Riau as /kita/ , in Palembang as /kito/ , in Betawi and Perak as /kitɛ/ and in Kedah and Perlis as /kitɑ/. Malaysian Malays Malaysian Malays ( Malay : Orang Melayu Malaysia , Jawi : ملايو مليسيا ) are Malaysians of Malay ethnicity whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in
10246-541: The region during the Malacca Sultanate era (1402–1511). It was the period the Malay language developed rapidly under the influence of Islamic literature. The development changed the nature of the language with massive infusion of Arabic , Sanskrit , and Tamil vocabularies, called Classical Malay . Under the Sultanate of Malacca the language evolved into a form recognisable to speakers of modern Malay. When
10355-714: The region. This region also shows the influences of other parts of the Malay Archipelago due to mass migration during the 17th century. Among the earliest groups were the Minangkabau who had established themselves in Negeri Sembilan , Buginese who had formed the Selangor sultanate and domiciled in large numbers in Johor . The development of many Malay Muslim-dominated centres in the region drew many of
10464-570: The remaining 1.4% practised other religions or did not provide any information. Malay language Malay ( / m ə ˈ l eɪ / mə- LAY ; Malay: Bahasa Melayu , Jawi : بهاس ملايو ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , and Singapore . It is also spoken in East Timor and parts of Thailand . Altogether, it is spoken by 290 million people (around 260 million in Indonesia alone in its own literary standard named " Indonesian ") across Maritime Southeast Asia . The language
10573-614: The shores of the Malay Peninsula from around the 12th century. The earliest archaeological evidence of Islam is the Terengganu Inscription Stone dating from the 14th century. 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
10682-590: The sole official language in West Malaysia in 1968, and in East Malaysia gradually from 1974. English continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in the superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that of Malaysia. In Singapore, Malay was historically the lingua franca among people of different nationalities. Although this has largely given way to English, Malay still retains
10791-435: The status of national language and the national anthem , Majulah Singapura , is entirely in Malay. In addition, parade commands in the military, police and civil defence are given only in Malay. Most residents of the five southernmost provinces of Thailand —a region that, for the most part, used to be part of an ancient Malay kingdom called Pattani —speak a dialect of Malay called Yawi (not to be confused with Jawi), which
10900-590: The struggle for Malaya's independence. 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
11009-593: The sultanate remained an institutional prototype: a paradigm of statecraft and a point of cultural reference for successor states like Johor , Perak and Pahang . 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
11118-543: The sun and mountain worshiping. At its zenith, the massive settlement sprawled across a thousand kilometers wide, dominated in the northern plains of the Malay Peninsula . 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,
11227-608: The superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that in Malaysia. In the Philippines , Indonesian is spoken by the overseas Indonesian community concentrated in Davao City . Functional phrases are taught to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as local students. Malay, like most Austronesian languages,
11336-606: The term 'Melayu' then, begins to appear as interchangeable with Melakans, especially in describing the cultural preferences of the Melakans as against the foreigners. 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. In 1511, the Melakan capital fell into the hands of Portuguese conquistadors . However,
11445-402: Was developed and transmitted during the time of the 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
11554-635: Was discovered by the Dutchman M. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra , on the banks of the Tatang, a tributary of the Musi River . It is a small stone of 45 by 80 centimetres (18 by 31 in). For centuries, Srivijaya , through its expansion, economic power and military prowess, was responsible for the widespread of Old Malay throughout the Malay Archipelago . It
11663-456: Was gradually replaced by the Rumi script. Malay is spoken in Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , East Timor , Singapore and southern Thailand . Indonesia regulates its own normative variety of Malay, while Malaysia and Singapore use a common standard. Brunei, in addition to Standard Malay, uses a distinct vernacular dialect called Brunei Malay . In East Timor , Indonesian is recognised by
11772-562: Was the working language of traders and it was used in various ports, and marketplaces in the region. Other evidence is the Tanjung Tanah Law in post-Pallava letters. This 14th-century pre-Islamic legal text was produced in the Adityawarman era (1345–1377) of Dharmasraya , a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that arose after the end of Srivijayan rule in Sumatra . The laws were for the Minangkabau people , who today still live in
11881-928: Was used solely as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes languages from Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean , with a smaller number in continental Asia . Malagasy , a geographic outlier spoken in Madagascar in the Indian Ocean , is also a member of this language family. Although these languages are not necessarily mutually intelligible to any extent, their similarities are often quite apparent. In more conservative languages like Malay, many roots have come with relatively little change from their common ancestor, Proto-Austronesian language . There are many cognates found in
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