The Penan were already living in these forests long before the remains of the British crown colonies of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak became the Kingdom of Malaysia in 1963.

早在马来亚、新加坡、北婆罗洲和沙捞越等英国直辖殖民地于1963年连结为马来西亚王国之前，培南人就已经生活在这些森林里了。