Riau Islands

Geography and population

The island of Batam, which lies within the central core group of islands (the Riau Archipelago), contains a majority of the province's population. Since becoming part of a Demilitarized Zone with Singapore in 2006, it has experienced high population growth rates. Other highly populated islands in the Riau Archipelago include Bintan and Karimun, while the archipelago also includes islands such as Bulan and Kundur. There are around 3,200 islands in the province, which has its capital at Tanjung Pinang in the south of Bintan Island.

The Riau Islands province includes the Lingga Islands to the south of the main Riau Archipelago, while to the northeast lies the Tudjuh Archipelago, between Borneo and mainland Malaysia; the Tudjuh Archipelago consists of four distinct groups — the Anambas Islands, Natuna Islands, Tambelan islands and Badas Islands — which were attached to the new province, though not geographically part of the Riau Archipelago. The 2015 census count was 1,968,313, less than estimated but nevertheless the second fastest growing province in Indonesia.

Language

The language of the Riau Islands is known as Riau Malay. The Riau Islands are considered the birthplace of the modern Malay language, though it was the classical Malaccan Malay of the Johor court rather than Riau Malay that formed the basis of the standard language. Besides proper Riau Malay, there are several distinct varieties of Malay spoken in the province as well, especially those in Anambas Islands and Natuna Islands where they speak a form of Malay much more closely related to varieties of Malay in the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia like in Terengganu and Pahang as well as varieties spoken in Sarawak.

History

From Srivijayan times until the 16th century, Riau was a natural part of greater Malay kingdoms or sultanates, in the heart of what is often called the Malay World, which stretched from eastern Sumatra to Borneo. The Malay-related Orang Laut tribes inhabited the islands and formed the backbone of most Malay kingdoms from Srivijaya to the Johor Sultanate for the control of trade routes going through the straits.

After the fall of Malacca in 1511, the Riau islands became the centre of political power of the mighty Sultanate of Johor or Johor-Riau, based on Bintan Island, and were for long considered the centre of Malay culture.

But history changed the fate of Riau as a political, cultural or economic centre when European powers struggled to control the regional trade routes and took advantage of political weaknesses within the sultanate. Singapore island, that had been for centuries part of the same greater Malay kingdoms and sultanates, and under direct control of the Sultan of Johor, came under control of the British.

The creation of a European-controlled territory in the heart of the Johor-Riau natural boundaries broke the sultanate into two parts, destroying the cultural and political unity that had existed for centuries. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 consolidated this separation, with the British controlling all territories north of the Singapore strait and the Dutch controlling territories from Riau to Java.

After the European powers withdrew from the region, the new independent governments had to reorganise and find balance after inheriting 100 years of colonial boundaries. Before finding their current status, the territories of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Borneo struggled and even came into military conflict against each other, and the Riau islands once again found themselves in the middle of a regional struggle.

The strong cultural unity of the region with Riau in the heart of this region never returned, and the line drawn by the British in 1819 remained, dividing the area into three new countries in 1965: Singapore, the Malaysian federation in the north, and Indonesia in the south.

Some level of unity returned in the Riau region for the first time after 150 years, with the creation of the Sijori Growth Triangle in 1989. But while bringing back some economical wealth to Riau, the Sijori Growth Triangle somewhat further broke the cultural unity within the islands. With Batam island receiving most of the industrial investments and dramatically developing into a regional industrial centre, it attracted hundreds of thousands of non-Malay Indonesian migrants, changing forever the demographic balance in the archipelago.

However, the upside of this demographic shift is that Batam is more multi-cultural and than how it was before, with a greater potential for better economic and educational development in future. Batam has become an industrial island with a booming tourism sector.

There have been various attempts at both independence and autonomy for this part of Indonesia since the founding of Indonesia in 1945.

Administrative divisions

This province is divided into five regencies (kabupaten) and two cities (kotamadya), listed below with their (provisional) populations at the 2010 Census:

Hubs

As the closest neighbour of Singapore and to realise that Soekarno–Hatta International Airport is fully utilised, Lion Air is developing hangars in Batam Island and Garuda Indonesia is developing a new airport, with runway and maintenance facilities so as to make a new air hub in Bintan Island.

Economy

The rate of economic growth of Riau Islands Province in 2005 amounted to 6.57%. The sectors that grew well (faster than the growth of total GDP) in 2005, among others sector, transport and communications (8.51%), manufacturing (7.41%), financial services, leasing and corporate services (6.89%), services sector (6.77%), and trade, hotels and restaurants (6.69%). GDP per capita in the Riau Islands province last five years (2001-2005) tends to increase. In 2001 GDP per capita amounted to Rp. 22.808 million, and in 2005 rose to become of Rp.29,348 million. However, in real terms (without taking into account inflation) GDP per capita (without gas) in 2001 only amounted to Rp.20,397 million, and in 2005 increased to Rp. 22.418 million.

As an island province, 96% of the province is covered with ocean. This condition is very conducive to the development of aquaculture enterprises ranging effort to use seeding cultivation technology and fishing. In the Karimun Island, there are snapper fish farming and seaweed cultivation. In Batam, Bintan Regency, Lingga and Natuna also has huge potential in the field of fisheries. In addition to capture fisheries in four districts were also developed aquaculture sea water and fresh water. In the city of Batam, precisely in Setoko Island, there is even a grouper hatchery facility capable of producing more than 1 million seeds annually. In Batam, precisely the area of Telaga Punggur, there is a fishing port which is managed by a private company. Telaga Punggur Fishery Port was inaugurated on 8 January 2010 by the Minister of Marine and Fisheries R.I Dr. Ir. H. Fadel Muhammad. The layout of the fishing port private Lake Punggur very strategic for dealing with traffic lane fishing vessels between Riau Islands Province, and Natuna, South China Sea as well as the presence of the fishing port private Telaga Punggur in Batam very close with Singapore to boost the export of marine products, and add locally-generated revenue.

Almost all areas in the province of Riau Islands has the potential to be processed into agricultural land and farms given fertile soil. The agricultural sector is a strategic sector, especially in the district of Bintan, Karimun and Batam. Besides the crops, and horticulture, other crops such as coconut, coffee, Gambier, pineapple and cloves are very well developed. Likewise, in the district of Bintan and Lingga very suitable for growing fruits and vegetables. In some of the island is suitable for oil palm plantations. One of the largest oil palm plantation in the Riau Islands are in the area of Tirta Madu.

Tourism

Riau Islands Province is the second tourist gateway in Indonesia after Bali. The number of foreign tourists who come to visit up to 1.5 million people in 2005. Attractions in Riau Islands province include beach resorts located in various counties and cities. Melur Beach, Abang Island and Nongsa Beach in Batam city, Pelawan Beach in Karimun, Lagoi Beach, Tanjung Berakit Beach, Trikora Beach and Bintan Leisure Park in Bintan district. Natuna is famous for sea activities such as snorkeling and diving.

In addition to coastal and maritime travel, Riau Islands province also has other attractions such as cultural heritage, the tombs of historic, traditional dances and events typical of the region. In the city of Tanjungpinang there Biting island as the historic island because the island is the historic mosque and the tombs of Raja Haji Fisabilillah and Raja Ali Haji, both of them are national heroes.