Malaysia has a multiracial population of 28.3 million,
consisting of 65.1% Malays and other Bumiputera groups:
26% Chinese, 7.7% Indians, and 1.2% of other ethnic groups
(Population and Housing Census, 2000). The “Orang Asli”
or the indigenous population in Malaysia are descendents
of the Austronesian people and they form only 0.6% of
the total population [1]. In West Malaysia, they have been
officially classified into three main categories—Proto-Malay
(Aboriginal-Malay), Negrito and, Senoi [1]. East Malaysia
has the largest number of indigenous groups which make
up to 60% of Sabah’s and 50% of Sarawak’s population.
The indigenous groups have mainly lived as agricultural and
fishing communities, but many have now integrated into
urban communities and hold important administrative and
academic positions