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
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Semelai of Malaysia

The Semelai of Malaysia, numbering approximately 8,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Malaysia. They are an Indigenous people, in the West Malaysia Indigenous people cluster of the Malay Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Semelai.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: West Malaysia Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Semelai (sza)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 8,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG009335
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Pray for the Semelai of Malaysia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Semelai
Language Family: Austroasiatic

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Media Resources in Semelai:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Semelai:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Semelai bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Semelai

The Semelai are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Semelai

The Semelai 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.

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

Next steps for the Semelai

The Semelai 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Semelai of Malaysia

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
readRevelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
readMatthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Semelai (ROP3 - 108824) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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