Belait People

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The Belait People are an ethnic group which reside mainly in the Belait district of Brunei. They are the native inhabitants of the Belait district from which the name was taken. The majority of the Belait People live in the Belait district and they are overwhelmingly Muslims. The Belait People speak the Belait language, 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 language, the official language of Brunei. Due to assimilation of the Malay culture and language, Belait People are often indistinguishable from the Malays. Under the Brunei Constitution, Belait People are considered as Bumiputera and thus are included as one of the seven races homogenous to Brunei. The Bruneian government considers the Belait People as of Malay orientation and thus are often categorized as 'Malays'.