The term Mah Meri is presently used by researchers of the Malayan aborigines and the officials for aboriginal affairs. In the Betisék language, the Ma' Meri literally means 'people of the forest'. 

The Mah Meri people have a rich and complex history that is intertwined with the cultural and social dynamics of the Malay Peninsula. Historically, the Mah Meri were seminomadic, maritime, and mangrove-dwelling people who traversed the southwestern coastal plains of the Malay Peninsula.

The origins of the Mah Meri are speculative, and their route of entry into the Malay Peninsula is ambiguous. There were traces of Mah Meri settlements in the southernmost states of Johore, Malacca, and Negeri Sembilan and the northernmost state of Selangor.

During the last two centuries, the Mah Meri migrated northward along the southwestern coast to escape the atrocities of Austronesian-speaking slave traders. Austronesian-speaking peoples historically harassed the Mah Meri, stealing their land, enslaving their children, and killing their people.