Sambas Malay in Indonesia

The Sambas Malay have only been reported in Indonesia
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

West Kalimantan is located on the island of Borneo, a fertile and mountainous land shared by three nations: Malaysia, Indonesia and the small country of Brunei Darussalam. The Sambas Malay live in an area bordering Malaysia. They are considered a people group with a distinct identity largely due to their historical ties to the Sambas Kingdom, which was one of the largest kingdoms in West Kalimantan.
The Melayu Sambas (Sambas Malay) people live along the northern coastline of West Kalimantan Province in various districts of Sambas Regency. These districts are Selakau, Tebas, Sambas, Sejangkung, Teluk Keramat, Paloh and Jawai. In their area, the Sambas people live alongside Dayak and West Kalimantan Chinese people. The Sambas people are the descendants of the inhabitants of the Sambas Kingdom. Their language is quite different from that of the neighboring Pontianak Melay and Dayak peoples.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Sambas Malay are an agrarian people, who depend on the crops from their farmland as well as harvesting of freshwater and saltwater fish. They cultivate rice, coconuts and rubber. Some Sambas Malay also work as civil servants or traders. Efforts to grow citrus trees have restored agricultural business in the area and yielded substantial crops of fruit. The Selakau orange usually produces a good crop. During the Ramadan month of fasting, the citrus fruit harvest is anxiously awaited by the local community.
The land where the Pontianak Malay live consists of swampy lowlands only 0-100 meters above sea level. This makes it difficult for them to obtain clean water. The road to their area from the city of Pontianak is good enough to allow vehicles to travel up to 100 km per hour, but in some areas, drivers must be careful along large stretches of poor road conditions. There are plans for developing the Sambas area. It can become a trade zone between Indonesia and Malaysia. However, infrastructure in the area has not yet been sufficiently developed to support such a plan. Two roads, Entikong and Jagoi, already connect West Kalimantan with Sarawak, Malaysia. Entikong Street is a formal border crossing between Indonesia and Malaysia because both nations have immigration offices there that process visas for entry and exit. On the other hand, Jagoi Street, which is closer to the Sambas area, is not yet a formal border crossing, although residents of the area can enter and exit after passing through strict inspections by military units of both nations.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Sambas Malay are devout followers of Sufi Islam. Syakh Ahmad developed Islam in the Sambas area by adopting the Naqshbandi Order and uniting it with the Qadiriyyah Order of Sufi Islam. In the resulting form of Islam, unique and silent worship creates a balance for the vocal chanting that characterizes the Qadiriyyah Order. The Qadiriyyah Order practices loud vocal chanting while the Naqshbandi Order practices silent forms of chanting. Students of the Qadiriyyah- Naqshbandi Order believe that they can obtain spiritual experiences more easily and quickly by using these practices.


What Are Their Needs?

Destruction of local mangrove forests is expected to result in erosion of the coastline up to 4-5 kilometers inland, which is already occurring in Jawai and Paloh districts. This needs to be addressed by both the community and the government. Accordingly, information needs to be communicated to the local community about the importance of mangrove forests and the negative effects of their destruction.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord’s people to provide practical answers to the Sambas Malay people.
Pray for spiritual hunger among the Sambas Malay people of Indonesia.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out loving workers to the Sambas Malay.
Pray for the Lord to raise up persons of peace that will welcome gospel workers.


Scripture Prayers for the Malay, Sambas in Indonesia.


References

IPN, 2011 Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Malay, Sambas
People Name in Country Malay, Sambas
Natural Name Sambas Malay
Alternate Names
Population this Country 512,000
Population all Countries 512,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 10
People ID 20289
ROP3 Code 108571
ROP25 Code 305027
ROP25 Name Malay
Country Indonesia
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 42  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Widespread in Peninsular Malaysia; also in Sarawak state: Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, and Betong districts.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Indonesia
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 42  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Widespread in Peninsular Malaysia; also in Sarawak state: Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, and Betong districts..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Malay, Sambas in Indonesia Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.03 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
99.97 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Malay (512,000 speakers)
Language Code zlm   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Sambas
Dialect Code 4645   Global Recordings Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Malay (512,000 speakers)
Language Code zlm   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Sambas
Dialect Code 4645   Global Recordings Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Malay

Primary Language:  Malay

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1629-1932)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1668-1974)
Bible-Complete Yes  (2015)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings Love letter to you from scripture Father's Love Letter
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Malay Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Four Spiritual Laws Campus Crusade for Christ
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Mobile App Download audio Bible app as APK file Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App Download audio Bible app as APK file Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App Download audio Bible app from Google Play Store Faith Comes by Hearing
Text / Printed Matter Download scripture in this language eBible.org
Text / Printed Matter Jesus Messiah comic book General / Other
Text / Printed Matter Literacy primer for Malay Literacy & Evangelism International
Text / Printed Matter Tools for faith conversations Campus Crusade for Christ
Text / Printed Matter Topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies World Missionary Press
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Anonymous  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group location: Joshua Project, Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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