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The Mah Meri of Malaysia

The Mah Meri of Malaysia, numbering approximately 5,300 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Senoi subgroup of Malaysia's Orang Asli whose ancestors migrated from islands off southern Johor to settle along the Selangor coast and Carey Island, renowned today for wood carvings recognized by UNESCO. They mostly adhere to Animism and Besisi is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Mah Meri

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: West Malaysia Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Besisi (mhe)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 5,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG009290
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Pray for the Mah Meri of Malaysia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

66%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Besisi
Language Family: Austroasiatic

70%
%
Mah Meri Speakers

Media Resources in Besisi:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Besisi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Besisi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mah Meri are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Mah Meri:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Mah Meri of Malaysia

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
readPsalm 139:14

Praise God for His creativity and power, and pray that He will raise up men and women from among them who are in awe of all He has done and want to go share the hope of Christ with others.

Mah Meri Across Countries (ROP3 - 106021) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Mah MeriPG009290Mah MeriMalaysia5,300Engaged yet UnreachedBesisiAnimism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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