In the different contexts the term "Malay" (Melayu) has many meanings. Taking a wide socio-cultural definition, the term refers not only to those who are settled in the Malay Peninsula, but also includes those in the larger area of the Malay Archipelago,embracing the Malay Peninsula and thousands of islands which today form the Republics of Indonesia and Philippines, Borneo, Cambodia and Vietnam. 

Although they are divided into many sub-groups and sub-cultures (as many dialects), linguistic and cultural scholars always consider them as belonging to the same stock, known as the Malays or Malayo-Indonesians. Indeed, the Malay World cover a wide cultural area, and it people constitute one of the major racial groups of the world or the global tribe.