Belait People
Encyclopedia
The Belait People are an ethnic group which reside mainly in the Belait
Belait
Belait can refer to either:* the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam.* Kuala Belait, the administrative town of the Belait District* the Belait River which flows through the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam....

 district of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

. They are the native inhabitants of the Belait
Belait
Belait can refer to either:* the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam.* Kuala Belait, the administrative town of the Belait District* the Belait River which flows through the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam....

 district from which the name was taken. The majority of the Belait People live in the Belait
Belait
Belait can refer to either:* the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam.* Kuala Belait, the administrative town of the Belait District* the Belait River which flows through the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam....

 district and they are overwhelmingly Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s. The Belait People speak the , a part of the Malayo-Polynesian group of languages which is on the verge of disappearing due to lack of usage in everyday communication. Today the Belait People commonly use the Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 language, the official language of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

. Due to assimilation of the Malay culture and language, Belait People are often indistinguishable from the Malays. Under the Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

 Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

, Belait People are considered as Bumiputera and thus are included as one of the seven races homogenous to Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

. The Bruneian government considers the Belait People as of Malay orientation and thus are often categorized as 'Malays'.
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