[2] Although seldom mentioned in the country's demographics, the Orang Asli are a distinct group, alongside the Malays, Chinese, Indians, and the indigenous East Malaysians of Sabah and Sarawak.

[7] Thomas John Newbold recorded that "Malays" of Rembau in present-day Negeri Sembilan had given their local forest-dwelling hunter-gathering population the contemporary name of orang benua (Jawi: اورڠ بنوا‎) meaning "people of the soil or country".

Past colonial rule by European and Islamic powers gave both the Malay word Sakai and the English term Aborigines pejorative connotations, hinting at the supposed backwardness and primitivism of these people.

[14] The boundaries between the groups are not fixed, and merge into each other, and the Orang Asli themselves use names associated with their specific area or by a local term meaning 'human being'.

[22] The Proto-Malays were originally considered ethnic Malay, but reclassified arbitrarily as part of Orang Asli by the British colonial authorities due to the similarity of their socio-economic and lifestyles with the Senoi and Semang.

Only over time did indigenous peoples begin to identify themselves under the common name "Orang Asli" as a marker of collective identity as natives, distinct from the predominant ethnic groups more recently arrived to the peninsula.

They live mainly in the northern regions of the country, and are considered to be mostly descended from the people of the Hoabinhian cultural period, with many of their burials found dating back 10,000 years ago.

During the Ice age period, the sea level was much lower, the seabed between the islands of the Sunda archipelago was then land, and the Asian mainland extended to present-day Sumatra, Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Palawan, forming the so-called Sundaland.

[14] Evidence of early human occupation of the Peninsula includes prehistoric artefacts and cave paintings such as the Tambun rock art, which is estimated to be around 2,000 to 12,000 years old.

[59] Maritime trade routes brought traders from India, China, the Mon kingdoms located in modern-day Myanmar, and later from the Khmer Empire of Angkor, in search of local produce.

From about 500 BCE, on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula and on either side of the Kra Isthmus, traders established their settlements, some of which later grew into large trading ports.

[63] With the easement of mobility and contact between various groups of people, the walls that separated the myriad of historical Austroasiatic and Austronesian tribal communities who once dwelled across the peninsula were dismantled, being gradually drawn and integrated into the Malay society, identity, language, culture and belief system.

Due to the traditional antipathy to the Malays, the indigenous Orang Asli were more inclined to improve relations with the Chinese, who were perceived as reliable trading partners.

Many secluded jungle Orang Asli villages became strategic locations frequented by the communist guerrillas of the Malayan National Liberation Army increasing cooperation between the two.

[70] A number of Orang Asli communities have been relocated to these settlements, which are accessible to Aboriginal and Security Department officials and yet close to traditional indigenous ancestral lands.

[71] Finally, an attempt was made to legislate to protect the indigenous population, the Aboriginal Peoples Ordinance resolution was enacted in 1954; which, with some modifications, still operates today.

State intervention in the life of the indigenous population during the years of independence intensified markedly and measures shifted from preservation of the Orang Asli to their full assimilation into Malay society.

Special community development officials, Pegawai Pemaju Masyarakat were appointed, and public buildings, Balai Raya are equipped with Muslim prayer halls called Surau that were built in the villages of Orang Asli.

They were paid for schooling, provided with scholarships for university studies, and created better opportunities in the field of health care, in terms of income and promotion in the civil service.

[73][79] Indigenous responses to the seizure of their customary lands and resources ranged from a repressed tacit perception of the situation and simple political lobbying of their interests to loud protests and demands for legal protection.

Some of these supernatural beings are individualised entities that have their own names and are associated with specific natural phenomena, such as thunderstorms, floods, or fruit ripening.

[83] The affected Orang Asli also sought a declaration under Article 11 of the Constitution of Malaysia that they have the right to practice the religion of their choice and to build their own prayer house.

[85] The lifestyle of certain Orang Asli groups that were formed for many centuries, has resulted in the way of solving practical problems and opportunities that these people faced in specific natural and social conditions.

Orang Asli communities demonstrate how social life can be reconciled without a hierarchical political system as an intermediary, but instead with gender equality, a combination of close cooperation and mutual assistance with personal autonomy.

Andy Hickson and his mother, Sue Jennings, after living in the Temiar community for more than a year, not only appreciated the nation's social heritage but also began to apply it in their practice.

Recently, some Orang Asli groups, with the support of volunteer lawyers, have made some progress in asserting their constitutional rights to customary lands and resources in the courts.

The Orang Asli are classified as bumiputeras,[81] a status signifying indigeneity to Malaysia which carries certain social, economic, and political rights, along with the Malays and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.

A special programme Program Bersepadu Daerah Terpencil (PROSDET) is focused on the development of settlements located in remote areas and inaccessible to any type of vehicle.

As part of its economic development programmes, JAKOA opens training courses in crop and livestock care, entrepreneurship courses, material assistance and equipment for indigenous people to start their own businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants, mechanic shops, Internet cafes, construction companies, fishing, potato, lime, aquaculture of tilapia, poultry, goats, and so forth, with funds allocated for the construction of premises for business space, where Orang Asli entrepreneurs could operate and sell their products.

[34] Another indicator of low wealth is the lack of basic household items in many Orang Asli families; including refrigerators, radios, televisions, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and so on, which may reflect the state of their well-being.