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The West Coast Bajau of Malaysia

The West Coast Bajau of Malaysia, numbering approximately 95,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous Sama-Bajau people of western Sabah, concentrated around Kota Belud and Tuaran, distinguished from the maritime Bajau Laut by their settled farming communities and equestrian traditions. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and West Coast Bajau is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: West Coast Bajau

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Malay Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Borneo-Kalimantan
Primary Language(s): West Coast Bajau (bdr)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 95,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG019332
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Pray for the West Coast Bajau 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: West Coast Bajau
Language Family: Austronesian

100%
%
Bajau, West Coast Speakers

Media Resources in West Coast Bajau:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in West Coast Bajau:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the West Coast Bajau bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The West Coast Bajau 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.

Next steps for the West Coast Bajau:
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

Pray specifically for the West Coast Bajau of Malaysia

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that the gospel will advance and many will acknowledge that all have sinned, fall short of God's glory, and need a Savior to reconcile them to God.

For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
readHebrews 10:34

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have compassion for those in prison, sympathize with those who are mistreated, and continue to do good and share the gospel with others.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that God will raise up people who love Him and are able and willing to go to and share the hope of the gospel with those who don't know it. Pray that everyone will see His name as majestic in all the earth!

Bajau, West Coast Across Countries (ROP3 - 105628) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
West Coast Bajau PG019332 West Coast Bajau Malaysia 95,500 Engaged yet Unreached West Coast Bajau Sunni Islam

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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