Selat Panjang (Chinese: 石叻班让; pinyin: shílèbānràng) is the capital of Kepulauan Meranti Regency, which is part of the province of Riau in Indonesia. Meranti Archipelago Regency is a new regency in Riau province which was established in 2009 and it has been separated from Bengkalis Regency.Tebing Tinggi island is separated by a narrow channel from Sumatra, and is west of Singapore across the Strait of Malacca.

People[link]

Selat Panjang has a dense population of about 100,000. The largest ethnic group is Malay, almost all Islamic in belief, but 40% of the population are ethnic Chinese^[1]. There are also smaller ethnic groups such as Tamils. Although relationships are generally harmonious, in February 2001 the Chinese were the target of a riot^[2] triggered by a gambling dispute^[3].

Language[link]

Riau Malay is used as a lingua franca while the local Chinese population speaks a form of Min Nan language known as Riau Hokkien. This form of Hokkien is very similar to Singaporean Hokkien 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 and is very different from Medan Hokkien which is used in the northern part of the Sumatra island.

Climate & Environment[link]

Located near to the equator, temperatures vary little during the year, typically with a high of 90° and low of 74° in each month. Rainfall ranges from under 3 inches (76 mm) in February to 9 inches (230 mm) in September, totalling about 70 inches (1,800 mm) per year^[4]. The land is flat. At one time it was entirely covered by peat swamps and dense forest, but it is rapidly being cleared for pulpwood and palm oil plantations^[5]. Mudskippers thrive in the tidal flats^[6]. 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 local people swim in the lake^[7].

Economy[link]

The town's main activities are fishing, agriculture, timber and retail^[8]. Selat Panjang has a small port with limited capacity^[9]. Electricity supply is not yet optimal^[10]. The people of the area are largely dependent on water transport, still often using dugouts to get around^[11]. However, both oil and natural gas have been found in Tebing Tinggi and the neighboring Padang and Merbau Islands. The TA field is close to Selat Panjang^[12]. New sago plantings were started in the region on peat soils in 1989, with US$2 million per year expected to be invested the crop^[13].

References[link]

Selat
Selat Location in Indonesia
Coordinates: 1°33′S 103°27′E / 1.55°S 103.45°E / -1.55; 103.45Coordinates: 1°33′S 103°27′E / 1.55°S 103.45°E / -1.55; 103.45
Country	Indonesia
Province	Jambi Province
Regency	Batang Hari Regency

Selat is a village in the Batang Hari Regency in the Jambi Province of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Nearby towns and villages include Kuap (7.3 nm), Lubukrusa (6.1 nm), Teluk (2.0 nm) and Pijoan (3.6 nm) .^[1]

References[link]

1. ^ Fallingrain world gazetteer

External links[link]

• Satellite map at Maplandia.com

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