For a long time, the Seletar people have been practicing a nomadic way of life within the mangrove forests and marshes along the Tebrau Reach, as well as at the mouths of rivers that flows into it.

At the end of the 19th century, mangrove forests dominated most of the coastal areas and in the estuaries of the rivers in northern Singapore, at the time of the arrival of the British colonial here, they accounted for about 13% of the island.

Mangrove is a unique repository of rich and diverse aquatic plant and natural resources, the operation of which has built a traditional economic complex of this people.

[7] The dynamics of the population in Malaysia is as follows:- Data from the 1996 census of the JHEOA recorded 801 Seletar people, of which 796 were in the state of Johor, and another five were in Selangor.

[7] As before, the Seletar people worship the numerous spirits (mambang) that they believe are inhabited everywhere: they live on trees, under water, in rocks, in caves, in the air and so forth.

At the conviction of the Seletar people, when not respecting the environment; that is the abode of spirits, mishaps like illnesses, conflicts and death will occur.

Parameswara then established ties with them by including the leaders of the Orang laut in the political hierarchy of his kingdom and through prudent marriages in the royal family itself.

Excellent knowledge of the countless islands and treacherous seas, made from the Orang laut of skilled navigators and naval commanders.

For hundreds of years, the loyalty of the Orang laut to the Malay rulers of the Malacca Sultanate was a decisive factor in the preservation and prosperity of the kingdom.

A 16th century Portuguese historian, João de Barros calls them "low and vile" people prone to piracy and raiding.

In addition, the Singapore government, which had just gained independence in 1965, expressed fears that the nomadic tribe, which freely crossed the state border, was potentially at risk of smuggling.

The attachment of the Malaysian authorities to the Seletar people, apparently, is due to their long-standing relations in the pattern of "patron-client" with the Sultan of Johor.

In the Sungai Landas on the southern coast of Johor, the government of Malaysia specifically allocated plots of land for the Singaporean Seletar people.

188 Seletar people, whom are residents of the villages of Bakar Batu and Sungai Temun, sued the High Court of the city of Johor Bahru against 13 defendants because of the invasion of their customary lands.

[28] The Seletar people in court were represented by a group of lawyers from the Bar Council's Committee on Orang Asli Rights.

[10] Individuals who are not indifferent are trying to draw attention to the fate of the people, the real threat of the loss of their unique traditional knowledge.

In doing so, they use primitive equipment in the form of cans traps with holes, which are placed at the bottom by using iron hooks with a long wooden handle.

The main instrument for fishing (more precisely, hunting) was a bamboo spear, jagged at the tip; it is called tikam.

[17] Another livelihood of the Seletar people is saltwater mussel farming, most notably in Kampung Sungai Temon, near Danga Bay, Johor.

Previously, they practiced barter operations exclusively, but now they use money to buy more rice, and even chicken, meat, sugar, coffee and, of course, clothing and kerosene.

However, they must have an elder that functions as a village head called Batin; who is officially appointed by the authorities to represent the local community in dealing with the Malay people.

[10] For the children, assistance to parents or grandparents in fisheries is not considered a routine, instead this is a form of recreation for them as they can then jump into the water and get out of the boat.

[17] In Segamat District, located in the interior of Johor, is a sacred place called kramat, where the revered mythical "queen" or raja peremption, which, according to tradition, in the past were subject to the Seletar people.

Therefore, Seletar people recognize themselves as part of a genuine indigenous population at the same level as the Orang Asli inhabitants of the country.

[7] Encouraging the transition of the Seletar people to permanent settlements, the Malaysian government set up new villages on the coast for them.

For this reason, they do not want to enter into a structured society, their children have problems with attending school, and the adults bogged with religious practices.

Civilization is rapidly and steadily advancing onto the traditional life of the Seletar people, and they are unable to stop this oncoming.

In order to survive in the context of urbanisation and social change, they must master new skills and new means of generating income.

The best way to help them adapt and live a normal life would be to implement programmes and projects that would use the existing knowledge and traditions of the people in favour of the community, without moving them to other regions.

As a result, without proper education, young people can not get decent work, and this condemns them to a difficult life as the outcast of Malaysian society.