JP/19/BANGKA

JP/19/BANGKA

Hakka Chinese at the tip of Bangka Island

Hakka Chinese survive the past, face bleak future

Haidir Anwar Tanjung The Jakarta Post Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung

Two years ago Bangka and Belitung (commonly known by the abbreviation Babel) islands were inaugurated as a new province, with Pangkalpinang on Bangka island, where tin is abundant, as the provincial capital.

If you happen to be on Bangka island, you will hear a unique story about a village where only residents of Chinese origin dwell.

This place is called Gedong village in Belinyu district, Bangka regency -- about two hours drive from the capital. It is located on the coastal area of Penyusuk on the northern tip of the island. The local administration, feeling optimistic, declared it a tourist village in 2000.

Residents of Chinese origin make up about 30 percent of the new province's population of 900,000 people. Chinese migrants first settled on Bangka island about three centuries ago.

The main reason Gedong was made a tourist attraction is that its residents are said to be unable to speak Bahasa Indonesia. But while this may have been true in the past, today the younger village residents do speak the national language.

To enter the village is to step into a stereotypical example of poor rural life.

About 66 families live in the village, far from the noise of the city. The fact that the village is entirely occupied by Chinese-Indonesians may be the only attraction for tourists.

There is still much room for improvement regarding the road that leads into Gedong. The road, about two kilometers long, is unpaved.

When we entered Gedong in the afternoon, sitting under a leafy tree was Santi Kek, a young resident of the village. When greeted in Indonesian, she returned our greeting in fluent Indonesian.

Friendly and hospitable, Santi provided us with information about her fellow residents. Old houses, measuring at least eight by seven meters, form a line for a distance of 100 meters on both sides of the road that ends at the beach. These houses have walls made of wood and roofs of clay tile.

Like the rest of the villagers, Santi was hospitable and open to outsiders. She was a good company for The Jakarta Post and Kompas that afternoon.

Besides her, local housewives also chimed in during our conversation. They served us water and fruit from a nearby tree.

The whole village was quiet in the afternoon. A group of school children was returning home. The men were out farming, fishing or mining tin, and would not return until sunset.

"Men are out working during the day. Some of them are fishermen, others grow pepper or work in the tin mines," said Santi.

Regarding the Indonesian language, she said that some old people did find it difficult to understand the language.

"Older people do not speak Indonesian but a few of them do understand the Bangka dialect of Malay. Everyday we speak Chinese. But the young, like me, speak Indonesian," she said.

Santi's father, Khek Kui Fong, 67, is a fisherman. Because he does not speak Indonesia, Santi served as our interpreter when we spoke to him about how the Chinese migrants settled on Bangka island.

Kui Fong said the residents of Gedong village had the same family name: Khek. They are Hakka.

"Generally, the Chinese here have Khek as a family name. There are some Chinese with different family names; they are married to members of our big Khek clan. We belong to the same Khek family from mainland China," said Kui Fong.