Riau
Riau (Jawi: رياو) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south, and a maritime border with the Riau Islands and the country of Malaysia to the east. It is the second-largest province in the island of Sumatra after South Sumatra, and is slightly larger than Jordan. According to the 2020 census, Riau had a population of 6,394,087 across a land area of 89,935.90 km²;[7] the official estimate of population as of mid-2022 was 6,614,384.[2] The province comprises ten regencies and two cities, with Pekanbaru serving as the capital and largest city.
This article is about the province in mainland Sumatra. For the archipelagic province, see Riau Islands. For other uses, see Riau (disambiguation).
Riau
10 August 1957
Riau Provincial Government
S. F. Hariyanto (Acting)[1]
Vacant
89,935.90 km2 (34,724.45 sq mi)
1,284 m (4,213 ft)
6,614,384
74/km2 (190/sq mi)
24th
45% Riau Malay
25% Javanese
12% Batak
8% Minangkabau
4% Banjarese
1.95% Buginese
1.85% Chinese
1.42% Sundanese
1.30% Nias
2.11 Others
87.05% Islam
10.83% Christianity
- 9.76% Protestant
- 1.07% Catholic
2.05% Buddhism
0.03% Confucianism
0.016% Folk religion
0.011% Hinduism[4]
Indonesian (official), Riau Malay (dominant), Minangkabau, Hokkien
ID-RI
2022[5]
4.55%[6]
0.755 (6th) – high
Historically, Riau has been a part of various monarchies before the arrival of European colonial powers. Muara Takus, a Buddhist temple complex believed to be a remnant of the Buddhist empire of Srivijaya c. 11th-12th century, is situated in Kampar Regency in Riau province. Following the spread of Islam in the 14th century, the region was then under control of Malay sultanates of Siak Sri Indrapura, Indragiri, and Johor. The sultanates later became protectorate of the Dutch and were reduced to puppet states of the Dutch East Indies. After the establishment of Indonesia in 1945, Riau belonged to the republic's provinces of Sumatra (1945–1948) and Central Sumatra (1948–1957). On 10 August 1957, the province of Riau was inaugurated and it included the Riau Islands until 2004.
Although Riau is predominantly considered the land of Malays, it is a highly diverse province. In addition to Malays constituting one-third of the population, other major ethnic groups include Javanese, Minangkabau, Batak, and Chinese. The local Riau dialect of Malay language is considered as the lingua franca in the province, but Indonesian, the standardized form of Malay is used as the official language and also as the second language of many people. Other than that, different languages such as Minangkabau, Hokkien and varieties of Batak languages are also spoken.
Riau is one of the wealthiest provinces in Indonesia and is rich in natural resources, particularly petroleum, natural gas, rubber, palm oil and fibre plantations. Extensive logging and plantation development in has led to a massive decline in forest cover Riau, and associated fires have contributed to haze across the larger region.
Etymology[edit]
There are three possible origins of the word riau which became the name of this province. First, from the Portuguese word, "rio" which means river.[8][9] In 1514, there was a Portuguese military expedition that traced the Siak River, in order to find the location of a kingdom they believed existed in the area, and at the same time to pursue followers of Sultan Mahmud Shah who fled after the fall of the Malacca Sultanate.[10]
The second version claims that riau comes from the word riahi which means sea water. The word is allegedly derived from the figure of Sinbad al-Bahar in the book of the One Thousand and One Nights.[9]
Another version is that riau is derived from the Malay word riuh, which means crowded, frenzied working people. This word is believed used to reflect the nature of the Malay people in present-day Bintan. The name is likely to have become famous since Raja Kecil moved the Malay kingdom center from Johor to Ulu Riau in 1719.[9] This name was used as one of the four main sultanates that formed the kingdoms of Riau, Lingga, Johor and Pahang. However, as the consequences of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 between the Netherlands and United Kingdom, the Johor-Pahang sultanates fell under British influence, while the Riau-Lingga sultanates fell under Dutch influence.[11][12]
History[edit]
Prehistoric era[edit]
Riau is thought to have been inhabited since between 40,000 and 10,000 BC, with the discovery of tools from the Pleistocene era in the Sengingi River area in Kuantan Singingi Regency in August 2009. Stone tools found include: an axle, a drawstring, and shale and core stone axes. The research team also found some wood fossils estimated to be older than the stone tools. It is suspected the tool users were Pithecanthropus erectus (reclassified as Homo erectus) similar to those found in Sangiran, Central Java. These tools proved the existence of prehistoric settlement in Riau. Earlier settlement was assumed to be possible in the area since the discovery of the Muara Takus Temple in Kampar in 1860.[13][14]
Tanjung Buton Ferry Harbor in Siak Regency
Siak Bridge
Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport in Pekanbaru is the largest airport in the province. It serves as the gateway to Pekanbaru and Riau in a whole. The airport serves flights to other major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Medan. Moreover, the airport also serves international flights to cities neighbouring countries such as Singapore, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Furthermore, the airport also was used for hajj embarkation to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia. On 16 July 2012, a Rp 2 trillion ($212 million) new terminal has been opened to accommodate 1.5 million passengers a year.[106] The new terminal spanning 17,000 square meters and a more spacious aircraft apron which can accommodate 10 wide-body aircraft, twice the capacity of the old apron. The new terminal is designed with a mix of Malay and modern architecture. The physical form of the building is inspired from the typical flying fauna form of Riau, Serindit birds. To meet the technical requirements of a world-class airport, the airport runway is extended from 2,200 meters to 2,600 meters and then to 3,000 meters.[107] There are other smaller airports in Riau which mostly serves regional or charter flights, such as Pinang Kampai Airport in Dumai, Tuanku Tambusai Airport in Pasir Pangaraian, Japura Airport in Rengat, Sei Pakning Airport in Tembilahan, Sei Pakning Airport in Sungai Pakning and Sultan Syarief Haroen II Airport in Pangkalan Kerinci.
The Trans-Sumatran Highway runs along the length of the province. Riau serves as a junction of the highway, with North Sumatra to the north, Jambi to the south and West Sumatra to the west. Most of the roads have been paved, but there are some sections that is in poor condition. Road damage was allegedly due to the large number of trucks carrying palm oil crops passing from Riau to North Sumatra or vice versa.[108] As part of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road program, the government is currently constructing the 131,48 km long Pekanbaru–Dumai Toll Road, which would connect Pekanbaru, the provincial capital and the port city of Dumai on the Strait of Malacca.[109] The first section between Pekanbaru and Minas is expected to begin operation in December 2019 and the whole toll road is expected to begin operation in 2020.[109][110] Another toll road connecting Pekanbaru and Padang in West Sumatra is also under the planning stage. Construction is expected to start on the Riau side due to land clearing issue on the West Sumatran side.[111] The project would also include the construction of the construction of an 8.95 km tunnel in the Payakumbuh area that will penetrate the Bukit Barisan Mountains, which would be the longest tunnel in Indonesia.[112]
The Port of Dumai is the largest port in the province. It serves both passengers and cargo. The port serves ferries to Batam and Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands, as well as international destinations such as Singapore, Johor and Malacca in Malaysia. River transportation is also important in Riau, as the province is crossed by many large rivers.
After the Pekanbaru Railway was abandoned at the end of World War II, there is currently no active railway line in Riau. However, there has been a proposal of reactivating the Pekanbaru-West Sumatra railway to connect Pekanbaru and Padang on the western coast of Sumatra, as well as building the Pekanbaru-Duri-Rantau Prapat railway which would connect Riau and the existing railway line in North Sumatra, as well as building the Pekanbaru-Jambi-Betung-Palembang railway which would connect Riau with Jambi and th existing railway line in South Sumatra. Overall, this railway system would form the Trans-Sumatra Railway.[113]