INTRODUCTION

With its territory consisting of some 2,000 islands scattered from the Malacca Strait to the Natuna Sea, and its claim to be “The Mother of the Malay Land”, the Riau Islands Province is proud of its maritime and Malay heritage. Yet, while it specifically refers to its “Malayness”, the Riau Islands also has a tradition of openness to outside influences and has acted as a melting pot by welcoming different communities over the centuries. This tradition continues to this day as, with the rapid economic development of the Riau Islands—particularly Batam and Bintan—many workers from across the country have migrated there in search of economic opportunities.

The largest such community of migrants is the Javanese, which has come to outnumber the number of Malays in several urban centres. The presence of this particular ethnicity in the Riau Islands raises a number of important questions. The Javanese living in the province are mostly permanent migrants who have resided there for two or more generations. Many of them have married members of other communities, including Malays. Thus, the issue of ethnic identity—of being Javanese or Malay and about Javaneseness or Malayness—is complex, especially in how it is presented and represented in social, economic and political relations.

This chapter will focus on the Javanese community in the Riau Islands. This will be done by exploring: how their identity is defined in relation to local people; to what degree they are assimilated; how they are depicted in political discourse in the province; and in what fashion they participate in its political life. In order to do so, this chapter will draw on data from various sources, including: historical texts; statistics; media reports; and unstructured key informant interviews carried out in the provincial capital, Tanjungpinang.

This chapter is comprised of six sections. Following this introduction, the second section will provide the historical background to the formation of the Province of the Riau Islands. The subsequent section will look at Malay and Javanese conceptions of identity. The fourth will look at available information regarding Javanese migration to the Riau Islands.