Selat Panjang (
Jawi: ; ) is the capital of
Kepulauan Meranti Regency, which is part of the province of
Riau
Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...
in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. The regency is a new regency in Riau province which was established on 19 December 2008 after being separated from
Bengkalis Regency. The city is located on
Tebing Tinggi Island, which is separated by a narrow channel from
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
, and across the
Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
from
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.
People
The town of Selat Panjang (administratively, the district or ''kecamatan'' of Tebing Tinggi) has a dense population of about 66,400 people in mid-2023.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410)] The largest ethnic group is
Chinese, and almost all of them adhere to
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and
Taoism
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
. Around 37% of the population is ethnically
Malay. There are also smaller ethnic groups such as
Tamils
The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...
,
Minangkabau, and
Javanese.
Thus, nowadays many Chinese Indonesians who are originally from Selat Panjang have moved to other regions to make a better living at prominent locations like
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
,
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern side of Sumatra, Sumatra Island with its name derived from the Malay language, Malay (Indonesian language, Indonesian) word for 'new mar ...
,
Batam
Batam, officially the City of Batam (, not to be confused with ''Batam Kota'', a kecamatan, district within this city), is the largest List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. The city administra ...
,
Bengkalis, and
Tanjung Balai Karimun
Tanjung Balai Karimun ( Jawi: , ) often abbreviated Tg. Balai, is the main town at the southern end of the Great Karimun Island (''Pulau Karimunbesar''), part of the Karimun Regency within the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. It is often cal ...
. Nevertheless, during every
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
, many of them would return to Selat Panjang to celebrate the Chinese New Year with their kin and relatives although they have migrated to other regions or cities for many years.
Language
Bahasa Indonesia is primarily spoken by people in Selatpanjang. Besides that, ''Riau Malay'' is used as a lingua franca while the local Chinese population speaks a form of
Hokkien
Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...
language known as ''
Riau Hokkien'' (廖内福建话). This form of Hokkien is very similar to
Singaporean Hokkien
Singaporean Hokkien; Tâi-lô: ; zh, poj=''Sin-ka-pho Hok-kiàn-ōe'' is a local variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively in Singapore. Within Chinese linguistic academic circles, this dialect is known as Singaporean Ban-lam Gu. Tâi-l� ...
and
Southern Malaysian Hokkien in terms of accent as well as lexicon. ''Riau Hokkien'' is spoken in the middle and southern part of the Indonesian island of
Sumatra
Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
and is very different from
Medan Hokkien
Medan Hokkien is a local variety of Hokkien spoken amongst Chinese Indonesians in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the ''lingua franca'' in Medan as well as the surrounding cities in the state of North Sumatra. It is also spoken in some Med ...
which is used in the northern part of the Sumatra island.
Climate & Environment
Located near to the equator, temperatures vary little during the year, typically with a high of and low of in each month. Rainfall ranges from in July to in November, totalling about per year. The land is flat. At one time it was entirely covered by
peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
swamps and dense forest, but it is rapidly being cleared for
pulpwood
Pulpwood can be defined as timber that is ground and processed into a fibrous pulp. It is a versatile natural resource commonly used for Papermaking, paper-making but also made into low-grade wood and used for chips, energy, pellets, and engineered ...
and
palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
plantations.
Mudskippers thrive in the tidal flats. Lake Nambus is about 30 minutes by road from the port of Selat Panjang, near Tanjung Village, surrounded by protected forest. During the month of
Safar
Safar (), also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar.
Most of the Islamic months were named according to ancient Sabean/Sabaic weather conditions; however, since the calendar is lunar, the months shift ...
local people swim in the lake.
History of the Town
The town of Selat Panjang is the administrative seat of the
Meranti Islands Regency. It used to be one of the cities (Bandar) that were the busiest and most popular trading centres in the Sultanate of Siak. The town has formed a heterogeneous society, especially of the Malays and Chinese because they are the role of inter- formed closely in harmony with cultural activities and trade. All this is inseparable tolerance inter-fraternity. It is this factor which then fosters trade and traffic as well as human goods from China to the archipelago and vice versa.
Selat Panjang and the surrounding area were formerly a territory of the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura which is one of the largest empires in Riau during the reign of Sultan Siak VII of Sultan Sharif Ali Abdul Jalil Assyaidis Syaifuddin Baalawi (who reigned in 1784-1810), usually called Sultan Sharif Ali, gave command to the Commander of Tengku Muda Good Saiyid Thoha to establish the State or the dealer at the Tebing Tinggi Island. In addition to interest in the island as well as Sultan Sharif Ali Abdul Jalil Assyaidis Syaifuddin Baalawi himself had to stop in the area, the main purpose of Sultan Sharif Ali was to gather forces against the kingdom of Sambas (West Kalimantan), which indicated that allied with the Dutch, who had betrayed the agreement faithfully and steal the crown Siak kingdom. Country or Bandar as it will spearhead the third defense after the Bukit Batu and Merbau''to confront the invaders and pirates.
Then the fleet under the Command of Commander in Chief Tengku Muda Saiyid Thoha at the beginning of Muharram in 1805 AD Kingdom of Siak accompanied by some authorities, hundreds of soldiers, and Balang upstream toward the island of High Cliff. They arrived at the cliff of Forest Alai (now the Capital District of West Tebingtinggi). Commander immediately stabs Keris and greets Alai. Ground Alai Land did not answer, he scooped up a handful of land, which was hot. He took it off, "According to all the knowledge den, the soil is not good Alai made a country because of land Forest land Alai is a male, could develop into a new country in a period," said the commander in front of a magnifying Siak and his men.
Commander of the departed along the coast of this island. Then, it looks like a high cliff. "This is the hell is meant by the father of Sultan Sharif Ali," he thought. Fleet docked to Cliff High Land coincided a date April 7, 1805 AD. At the age was 25 years, with say Bismillah Commander soared into the high ground while greeting. "Alhamdulillah high ground is answering greetings den," he said. Land on taking it feels cool and comfortable. He plugs in the dagger on the ground (roughly its current location near the office complex Selatpanjang Customs). As I said, "Hear ye the land by the Forest High Cliff is a very well-established country. This country will develop safe and prosperous when leaders and citizens fairly work hard and obey the laws of God. "
The commander was standing in front of all the royal princes, soldiers, upstream Balang, and inner-inner around the island. "Den Bagus Saiyid Thoha named Tengku Panglima Besar Muda Siak Sri Indrapura. Kris Den is named Lightning Open Sunscreen Natural State. This figure den Affairs Makmur Kencana Bandar called the High Cliff. "Origin of the town's name Selatpanjang.
After the cutting of forests, and open areas of power stood the palace of the great commander. In 1810 AD Sultan Sharif Ali Muda Tengku Panglima Besar Saiyid Thoha was ruler of the island. At that time, the east of the country bordered the River Suir, and the west was bordered by the River Perumbi, as development time is increasingly crowded airports and grew as a commercial port in the empire siak.
Bustling trade interaction of coastal areas of Riau is the reason for the Dutch East Indies government participated in the determination of the name of this country. History was recorded during the 11th Sultan of Siak Sultan Hashim Abdul Jalil Assayaidis Syarief Syaifuddin. In 1880, the government in the High Cliff State Makmur Kencana was dominated by JM Tengkoe Soelong Tjantik Saijet Alwi who holds a Master Tomonggong Marhum Tail (Head of State who is responsible to the Sultan of Siak). During his reign at this airport there was a polemic with the Dutch Colonial Government Konteliur Van Huis about changing the name of this country, in the Dutch colonial government unilaterally changed the area into Selat Panjang, but not approved by JM Tengkoe Soelong Tjantik Saijet Alwi as local stakeholders. Finally, based on mutual agreement on September 4, 1899, High Cliff State Kencana Makmur Airport turned into State Tebingtinggi Selatpanjang.JM Tengkoe Soelong Tjantik Saijet Alwi died in 1908. Over time the beginning of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, Selat Panjang town, and the surrounding area became under Bengkalis Regency Kewedanan which then changed status to Tebing Tinggi. Pada District dated December 19, 2008, Selat Panjang and the surrounding area was turned into Meranti Islands Regency which was split away from the Bengkalis Regency with its capital at Selat Panjang.
Economy

The town's main activities are fishing, agriculture, timber and retail. Selat Panjang has a small port with limited capacity. Electricity supply is not yet optimal. The people of the area are largely dependent on water transport, still often using dugouts to get around. However, both oil and natural gas have been found in Tebing Tinggi and the neighboring
Padang
Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...
and Merbau Islands. The TA field is close to Selat Panjang. New
sago
Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...
plantings were started in the region on peat soils in 1989, with US$2 million per year expected to be invested in the crop.
Hotels
Star Hotels in Selat Panjang, among others:
[ ]
Tourism
* Cultural attractions in Selatpanjang

*
Hoo Ann Kiong Temple
Hoo Ann Kiong Temple (, known as Vihara Sejahtera Sakti in Indonesian language, Indonesian) is the oldest Chinese Taoism temple in Selat Panjang. This temple is the oldest in Riau province and on Jalan Ahmad Yani, Selat Panjang, Riau. It is on ...
(護安宮)
Sister Cities
References
{{Reflist
Populated places in Riau
Regency seats of Riau