Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society, population in Feb 2007 is 26.6 million consisting of 62% Malays, 24% Chinese, 8% Indians, the rest are others and indigenous people. Malaysian culture or Malaya culture is a mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and various indigenous tribes dating back to more than fifteen hundred years ago.

Malay

The Malays, which form the largest community, are defined as Muslims in the Constitution of Malaysia. The Malays play a dominant role politically and are included in a grouping identified as bumiputra. Bumiputra refers to native or local indigenous race which include Sabah and Sarawak native tribes. In West Malaysia the largest Bumiputra group is the Malay. Each region within Malaysia, the Malays have their distinctive dialects even though everyone converse the official Malay (Bahasa Melayu). In Sarawak, they called it Bahasa Sarawak with influence of Bruneian Malay and Iban words. The Malay language in Sabah however has more Bruneian Malay, Kadazandusun and Indonesian words. The Malay language is the national language of the country.

The largest non-Malay indigenous tribe is the Iban of Sarawak, who number over 600,000. Some Iban still live in traditional jungle villages in longhouses along the Rajang and Lupar rivers and their tributaries, although many have moved to the cities. The Bidayuh, numbering around 170,000, are concentrated in the south-western part of Sarawak. The largest indigenous tribe in Sabah is the Kadazandusun. They are largely Christian subsistence farmers. The 140,000 Orang Asli, or aboriginal peoples, comprise a number of different ethnic communities living in Peninsular Malaysia. Traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists, many have been partially absorbed into modern Malaysia. However, they remain the poorest group in the country.

Other well-known Malaysian Borneo races are:-

Chinese

The Chinese has been trading with other races since hundreds of year along the South East Asia. Through merchants, many china of fine quality have been kept by local indigenous groups for many generations. Other than exporting china, some Chinese have taken root throughout South East Asia which includes the Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. The intermarriage between locals and Chinese has created many group names such as Peranakan or better known to some as Baba Nyonya around the Malacca Strait and Sino-Kadazan on the Northern Borneo.

The Chinese population in Malaysia is mostly Buddhist, Taoist or Christian. Chinese in Malaysia speak a variety of Chinese dialects including Mandarin Chinese, Hokkien/Fujian, Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew. Many Chinese in Malaysia also speak English as a first language. Chinese have historically been dominant in the Malaysian business community.

In Sabah, a special group known as Sino-Kadazan is commonly found at West Coast region. They are the result of the popular interracial marriage between Chinese and the local Kadazandusun. Many are trilingual which able to speak Malay, Chinese (Mandarin, Hakka etc.) and English.

Indian

The Indians in Malaysia are mainly Hindu Tamils from southern India speaking Tamil, there are also other Indian communities speaking Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi, living mainly in the larger towns on the west coast of the peninsula. Many middle to upper-middle class Indians in Malaysia also speak English as a first language. There is also a sizable Sikh community in Malaysia of over 83,000 people. Most Indians originally migrated from India as traders, teachers or other skilled workers.

Other Malaysian

Eurasians, Cambodians, Vietnamese, and indigenous tribes make up the remaining population. A small number of Eurasians, of mixed Portuguese and Malay descent, speak a Portuguese-based creole, called Papiá Kristang.