PENINSULA PEOPLE FROM AGE TO AGE (MALAYSIA)
By: Hamly Hadi
(History Observer)
1. The earliest inhabitants came from Africa 60,000 years ago (Out of Africa theory)
The earliest inhabitants of the Peninsula were the Orang Asli, a group of indigenous peoples of the Malaysian Peninsula.
These groups comprised various small ethnic groups, including Negrito people such as the Kintak, Lanoh, Jahai, and Bateq.
And Senoi people such as the Temiar, Semai, Mah Meri, Semaq Beri, Che Wong, and Jah Jahut.
2. Proto-Austronesians arrived from Yunnan and Taiwan 5,000 years before Christ (Out of Yunnan and Taiwan theory)
This group has a closer affinity with the populations of the islands of Southeast Asia.
The ethnic groups included are: Kesui, Kenungan, Semelai, Temog, Jakun, Kuala, Seletar, and Kanaq.
3. Austroasiatic people arrived from the Mekong River Delta 500 BC.
This group was an early civilization that inhabited Kedah, Perak, Terengganu, and Kelantan before the arrival of the Malays. Therefore, the people of this region have a distinct accent from the Malays in general in Malacca and Johor.
4. Ethnic Chinese from China began arriving in the 7th century AD.
Ethnic Chinese began arriving on the peninsula in the 7th to 8th centuries AD. Although there is no strong evidence of large-scale permanent settlements during this period, trade routes from China typically followed the coast of Indochina, Thailand, and then the Malay Peninsula. Foreign ships, such as Persian or Indian vessels, dominated the voyages between Malay ports and Canton in the early days.
9th Century and Onward: There was an increase in the arrival of ethnic Chinese in the Indonesian archipelago (including the Malay Peninsula) after the 8th century due to changing attitudes of Chinese merchants who increasingly traveled abroad for trade.
The increasing number of arrivals between the 13th and 17th centuries strongly assimilated various aspects of indigenous Malay culture and formed distinct groups known as Peranakans in Kelantan and Terengganu, and Baba-Nyonyas in Malacca and Penang.
5. Dravidians arrived from Tamil Nadu as early as the 11th century AD.
Before British colonization, Tamils were already present in the archipelago much earlier, particularly during the powerful South Indian Chola kingdom in the 11th century. The Pallava dynasty of Tamil Nadu spread Tamil culture and the Tamil script to Malaysia. The Tamil Maharaja Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty attacked Srivijaya in the 11th century.
The Malay Peninsula had a strong Tamil culture by the 11th century, and Tamil merchant guilds were established in several locations. At that time, Tamils were one of the most important trading groups in maritime Asia. Although most of these immigrants to Southeast Asia have assimilated into the majority Malay ethnic group, some communities, such as the Malaccan Chetty, are remnants of these early Tamil migrants.
6. Malays arrived from Indonesia in the 15th century AD
Following the collapse of Srivijaya on the island of Sumatra due to successive attacks by the Chola, Singasari, and Majapahit empires, descendants of the Banjar Srivijaya migrated to the peninsula, establishing the Malacca Kingdom in 1402 AD. This marked the beginning of a massive Malay influx on the peninsula.
Malay cultural identity began to emerge in 1406 after Prameswara and his followers in Malacca converted to Islam. The Banjarese language, brought by the Srivijaya people, evolved into Malay after 38 years of mixing with hundreds of languages in Malacca. Malay emerged in 1440. Malacca was then attacked by the Portuguese in 1511 AD, causing many Malays to flee to various regions in Southeast Asia, spreading Islam, Malay culture, and the Malay language to various regions on the peninsula, islands such as Riau and its surroundings, and western Kalimantan.***
References:
1. Lee 1965, pp. 306–314.
2. Wong 2016, pp. 9–21.
3. Wade & Chin 2018, pp. 249.
4.Studies in Southeast Asian Art: Essays in Honor of Stanley J. O’Connor by Stanley J. O’Connor, Nora A. Taylor p.196
5. Sneddon, James (2003). The Indonesian Language: Its history and role in modern society. Sydney: University of South Wales Press Ltd. p. 73.
Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, December 30 2025
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