Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Sembakung Murut of Malaysia

The Sembakung Murut of Malaysia, numbering approximately 10,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Proto-Malay hill people of the Sembakung River spanning northern Kalimantan and Sabah, whose name means hill people, formerly shifting cultivators who used the river as their highway and were among the last Bornean tribes to abandon headhunting. They mostly adhere to Animism and Sembakung Murut is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Sembakung Murut

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Sembakung Murut (sbr)
Primary Religion(s): Animism
Population: 10,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009334
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Sembakung Murut 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

90%
%
Animism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sembakung Murut
Language Family: Austronesian

70%
%
Murut, Sembakung Speakers

Media Resources in Sembakung Murut:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Sembakung Murut:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Sembakung Murut bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Sembakung Murut are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Sembakung Murut:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Sembakung Murut of Malaysia

For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
readPsalm 47:7

Pray for those who live for idols that will never satisfy their hearts, asking that someone will tell them that God is the King of all the earth so that they will turn to Him in repentance and praise.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who are searching for a way to God and desiring truth will encounter the good news of eternal life and accept it.

Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.
readPsalm 105:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice as they remember His wonders, miracles, and perfect judgements.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
read2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Pray that the Word of God will spread throughout this people group and be honored. Ask God to establish His people and guard them from the evil one, testifying to this whole people group of His great faithfulness.

Murut, Sembakung Across Countries (ROP3 - 108823) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Sembakung MurutPG022613Sembakung MurutIndonesia4,300No Longer UnreachedSembakung MurutAnimism
Sembakung MurutPG009334Sembakung MurutMalaysia10,500No Longer UnreachedSembakung MurutAnimism

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.

Scroll to Top