The Kinabatangan Sungai of Malaysia

The Kinabatangan Sungai of Malaysia, numbering approximately 18,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as a people of Malaysia (Sabah) They are an Indigenous people, with Kinabatangan as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Borneo-Kalimantan people cluster of the Malay Peoples. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan (dtb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 18,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG019338

Pray for the Kinabatangan Sungai 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

80%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan
Language Family: Austronesian

90%
%
Kadazan, Labuk-Kinabatangan Speakers

Media Resources in Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1996 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.✓

1 entry

Or check out the Labuk-Kinabatangan Kadazan bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Kinabatangan Sungai 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 Kinabatangan Sungai:
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 Kinabatangan Sungai of Malaysia

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
readMatthew 24:14

Pray that the message of hope will reach those who are wandering in darkness, offering them a path to eternal life.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
readColossians 4:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be wise in the way they walk with the lost and manage their time and other resources in a way that honors God.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
read2 Peter 3:9

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will patiently endure hardships as they share the gospel, knowing that the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise.

Kinabatangan Sungai Across Countries (ROP3 - 105012) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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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