From Riau to the Riau Islands: Tanjung Pinang, the Riau Rupiah and the Batam Authority

Today the Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau) are a province of their own with Tanjung Pinang as capital, and Batam is the largest city. Seventy years ago the political map looked very different: the islands shared a province with mainland Riau, Tanjung Pinang was briefly its capital, and Batam was a quiet island across the water from Singapore.

1957–1959: Tanjung Pinang, capital of all Riau

Riau province was created on 9 August 1957 by Emergency Law No. 19/1957, split off from the province of Central Sumatra. It covered mainland Riau on Sumatra and the islands around the Singapore Strait out to Natuna. Tanjung Pinang, the old town of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, was named temporary capital.

Temporary it was. A committee set up by the governor chose Pekanbaru, and since 20 January 1959 Pekanbaru has officially been the capital of Riau. The islands stayed with Riau as the regency of Kepulauan Riau, governed from Tanjung Pinang. Traces of the sultanate can still be seen on Penyengat Island, just across from Tanjung Pinang harbour.

1963–1964: a "dollar paradise" and the Riau rupiah

Politically the islands were Indonesian, but economically they were tied to Singapore and Malaya: in the markets of Tanjung Pinang people paid in Malayan dollars. During the Konfrontasi the government set out to change that. Presidential Regulation No. 21/1963 banned the Malayan dollar in the Riau Islands and replaced it at par with a special currency, the Riau Islands rupiah (KR Rp). Malayan money was withdrawn from 1 November 1963.

The special currency was short-lived. From 1 July 1964 the Riau rupiah ceased to be legal tender and was exchanged at 14.7 ordinary rupiah each. Its aluminium coins marked "Kepulauan Riau" are now collectors’ items.

1970–1973: Batam becomes an authority zone

Until the late 1960s Batam was just a subdistrict of Kepulauan Riau, with fishing villages and forest. Its position only about 20 kilometres from Singapore caught the central government’s eye. Under Presidential Decree No. 65/1970 the state oil company Pertamina, led by Ibnu Sutowo, set up a logistics and operations base on the island.

On 26 October 1971 President Suharto issued Presidential Decree No. 74/1971 on developing Batam as an industrial area, with Ibnu Sutowo as its first chairman; the date is still marked as the anniversary of BP Batam. Two years later Decree No. 41/1973 created the Batam Industrial Development Authority (Otorita Batam). It controlled land and development on the island, separate from ordinary local government.

From 1978 to 1998 the Authority was led by B. J. Habibie, then also Minister of Research and Technology. His era brought roads, ports, Hang Nadim airport, industrial estates and the Barelang bridges linking Batam with Rempang and Galang.

The busy Batam of today did not exist yet. When development began, about 6,000 people lived on the island. Immigration, too, was not based on Batam at first: from 1971 the landing post at Batu Ampar port came under the Belakang Padang immigration office, on a small island off Sekupang. Batam got its own immigration office in Sekupang only in 1979 (opened on 7 April 1980). In March 1983 (Presidential Decree No. 15/1983) Batam’s sea and air ports were made entry points for foreign tourists, and on 27 December 1983 the President opened the island’s main infrastructure.

Two administrations on one island

Alongside the Authority, Batam also gained a city government: in 1983 (Government Regulation No. 34/1983) it became an administrative municipality, and in 1999 (Law No. 53/1999) an autonomous city with its own mayor and council. Since then Batam has had two institutions, the city and the Authority.

In 2007 (Government Regulation No. 46/2007) Batam, Rempang and Galang were declared a free trade zone and free port, and the Batam Authority was renamed Badan Pengusahaan (BP) Batam. Since 2019 (Government Regulation No. 62/2019) the mayor of Batam has also headed BP Batam.

2002: the Riau Islands province is born

By the late 1990s the islands wanted to break away from mainland Riau. The movement led by the BP3KR committee succeeded: Law No. 25/2002 created the province of Kepulauan Riau. 24 September 2002 is celebrated as its anniversary; the provincial government began work on 1 July 2004.

The province now covers the cities of Tanjung Pinang and Batam and the regencies of Bintan, Karimun, Lingga, Natuna and Kepulauan Anambas. Its capital is Tanjung Pinang again, some 45 years after the town lost its status as capital of Riau.

Batam and Bintan today

Today the two islands are a short boat ride apart from Telaga Punggur, and many travellers combine them. There is a sample plan in Batam and Bintan in one trip, and every ferry route is on the ferry route map. For Batam itself, see batam.com and its comparison Batam vs Bintan.

Sources: Emergency Law No. 19/1957, Presidential Regulation No. 21/1963, Presidential Decrees No. 65/1970, 74/1971, 41/1973 and 15/1983, Government Regulations No. 34/1983, 46/2007 and 62/2019, Laws No. 53/1999 and 25/2002 (JDIH BPK, peraturan.go.id), the ANRI national archives and the histories of BP Batam and Batam Immigration.