Independence Day sampan race boosts local MSME activity in Batam
The Batam municipal government in the Riau Islands has assessed that the traditional sampan race on Belakangpadang Island has helped boost local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around the race arena, which was packed with spectators.
Batam Regional Secretary Firmansyah said the high level of public enthusiasm was evident from the dense number of vehicles filling the area around the race location.
“Looking at the large number of people who came, not only from Belakangpadang District but also from Batam, I saw directly that parking for two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles had reached the main road. That shows how crowded it was with visitors,” said Firmansyah in Batam on Monday.
According to him, the high number of visitors has had an impact on micro, small, and medium enterprises in Belakangpadang. He noted that several business operators, such as pompong boat service owners, coffee shops, food stalls, and becak drivers, benefited from the increased community activity during the race.
“I am sure the pompong boats had a bumper harvest today, the coffee shops had a bumper harvest, the food stalls had a bumper harvest, and the becaks also had a bumper harvest. So if anyone says this event does not affect MSME customers, they are not looking at it positively,” he said.
The race featured several types of traditional sampans, including ketinting saf, ketinting lepet, women’s rowing sampans, and sailing sampans. In addition, there was a modern category race featuring speedboats in several tonnage classes.
Firmansyah also said the race was attended by participants from other regions, such as Tanjung Balai Karimun, and from neighbouring Malaysia.
Event sponsor Hasim said the sailing sampan race is also part of efforts to preserve the maritime tradition of the Belakangpadang community, which had previously been halted.
“This race is actually a tradition. The sailing sampan had disappeared because it was not held and there was no sponsor. With very few young people involved, this tradition could have been lost. Now with this event, many people have started building new sampans,” he said.
He said the event is also a momentum to attract the interest of the younger generation to continue the sampan racing tradition. From previously only around a dozen participants, there are now about 37 participants taking part in the race.
He added that public enthusiasm in watching this year’s race also increased significantly compared to the previous year’s event.
“The enthusiasm of the local and international community is extraordinary. The number of people who came to watch and see the sampans was about double compared to last year,” he said.