The Deutero-Malays, an Iron Age or Bronze Age people descended partly from the Chams of Cambodia and Vietnam, push the Proto-Malays inland around 300 BCE.

The first group in the peninsula to use metal tools, the Deutero-Malays are the direct ancestors of today's Malaysian Malays, and bring with them advanced farming techniques.

The Malays share a common culture and social structure but remain politically fragmented throughout the Malay archipelago.