Penyengat remains cradle of Malay civilization

Penyengat remains cradle of Malay civilization

Text and photos by Graham Simmons

TANJUNG PINANG (JP): If you want to see something of real
Malay-Indonesian history, there's no need to traipse through
jungles or brave tiger-infested swamps. A day trip out of
Singapore takes the traveler back through time to the days of an
ancient culture, the remnants of which can still be seen on
Penyengat Island.

Penyengat lies just a few hundred meters offshore from the
Riau archipelago's provincial capital of Tanjung Pinang on Bintan
Island. Scattered all over the island are the ruins of temples,
graveyards and royal bathing places, a memorial to a former Malay
civilization that once stretched from Malacca to Java.

A high-speed catamaran from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal in
Singapore takes just 45 minutes to get to Bintan. However,
visitors not in too much of a hurry can do some fine beach-
crawling en route on Batam Island.

Batam's Nongsa Beach is justly renowned, and a new resort just
completed at Teluk Mata Ikan is already attracting a lot of
visitors from Singapore and Malaysia. Packages at Teluk Mata Ikan
can be booked at most travel agents in Singapore for as little as
US$40-$80 a day.

Tanjung Pinang is a pleasant little town situated on a
peninsula. It is a place for shipping and passengers from all
over the Indonesia-Malaysia region. There are three main wharves:
Pelantan I, Pelantan II (for boats to the southern Riau Islands)
and the main wharf in Tanjung Pinang harbor. From these piers,
boats to anywhere in Indonesia, including Jakarta, set sail.

Things to see in Tanjung Pinang include interesting buildings,
among them the Chinese temple and a huge mosque. A stroll along
the boardwalk down by the harbor is also where 90 percent of the
rest of Tanjung Pinang's population gathers after sunset.

There's also a large night market near Hotel Tanjung Pinang,
serving food from all over Southeast Asia. For breakfast, try one
of the excellent coffee shops on Jalan Merdeka.

For those who have the time to stay in Tanjung Pinang, there
are many choices of accommodation. Upmarket is the Hotel Tanjung
Pinang. A cheaper but very pleasant establishment on a quiet
street is the Wisma Riau on Jalan Yusuf Kahar, with ensuite rooms
from Rp 20,000 to Rp 25,000. Or there is the Hotel Surya, just
one street up from the harbor, where rooms with private bath cost
about Rp 17,500.

Finally, mention should be made of the many homestays (look
for the sign Penginapan) which seem to spring up and then fade
away like mushrooms after rain. Basic rooms here run around Rp
6,000 to Rp 10,000 per night.

Just outside Tanjung Pinang, Singapore's Bintan Resorts has
established a whole string of upmarket resort-style
accommodations.

Penyengat is a mere 10-15 minutes by speedboat or rowing boat
from Tanjung Pinang harbor. It is a regular run, and shouldn't
cost more than Rp 400-Rp 500.

Arrival on Penyengat is entry into a veritable time warp.
Today, it is the peaceful home of a hundred or so fishing
families. But history is ever present on the island.

From the time the Portuguese invaded Malacca in 1512, the
Sultanate of Riau-Johore gained sway over the entire region of
Greater Malaya, stretching from Malacca through to Aceh and
Palembang in Sumatra, and Jakarta in Java.

Despite the coming of the Dutch beginning in the 17th century,
this Sultanate continued to exert an enormous cultural influence
on the whole region, and acted as a mechanism for introducing
language and lifestyle innovations from regions as far-flung as
Madagascar, Thailand, Sri Lanka and even from the Maori people of
New Zealand. With the London agreement of 1824, which separated
Johore in present-day Malaysia from Riau, Penyengat became the
temporal and spiritual capital of this kingdom.

Upon arrival in Penyengat Island, turning right from the boat
harbor takes you past neat wooden houses set up on stilts, each
with the ubiquitous TV aerial to pick up programs from the three
countries of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

On the left of the foot-road (there aren't any cars on
Penyengat) is the "Pemandian Sumur Puteri," the former bathing
place of the wives of Raja Ali Haji, a ruler of the region.
Continuing along the road, there is the amazing Yellow Mosque, a
canary-yellow structure with 13 domes and four minarets.

This mosque is of comparatively recent origin. It houses an
extensive library of old manuscripts, including works on history
and Islam. During World War II it was one the few places in the
Malaysia-Indonesia archipelago that remained a sanctuary in the
face of Japanese invading forces. The Japanese apparently
understood its sacred value to the local population, and were
unwilling to risk a confrontation with the Islamic leaders of the
day.

Much of the impetus for the building of the Yellow Mosque can
be credited to Raja Ali Haji, who rose to power in 1860. Skilled
in religion, genealogy, history, literature and law, and having
made the pilgrimage to Mecca, he became famous throughout the
archipelago for his learning and as an enlightened ruler. He was
at home conversing in any one of a dozen languages, including
Arabic, Dutch, Javanese, the Betawi dialect of Jakarta and
Makassarese, and he introduced into the language many of the
words found in modern Indonesian, according to Pertemuan Budaya
Melayu Riau (Riau Malay Cultural Encounter, 1985).

Raja Ali's palace today lies in ruins, hopefully awaiting
restoration. But an imposing portal marking the entrance to the
ruined palace still stands just behind the Yellow Mosque. There's
a sign at the entrance reading "Bekas Istana (former palace of)
Raja Ali".

Among other things to see on Penyengat are the graveyards of
Rajas Ali and Hamidah and their wives, and the extraordinary
pure-white mausoleum crested by five breast-shaped domes, each
with a nipple on the top.

On the other side of the island, past the ruins of an old
fort, lies the headquarters of the former Russydiah Club. This
club was founded in the late 1800s, ostensibly as a cultural
organization. But behind the scenes, it acted to coordinate the
struggle against Dutch rule. It is said to have been instrumental
in gaining Indonesia's post-war independence.

There is a lot more to see and do on Penyengat. If you have
the time, the better part of a day could be most profitably spent
getting to know the island better.

A further suggestion for anyone who wants to do some real
exploring is the twice-monthly boat trip from Tanjung Pinang to
the outer islands of Tambelan, Serasan and Natuna Besar, just off
the coast of Kalimantan. It is said that some of the best dancers
in Indonesia come from this region. You could approach Perintis
Lines (tel: 0771-21513) for details of sailing schedules and for
cabin bookings.

To get there, take a domestic flight from Jakarta to Hang
Nadim airport on neighboring Batam. At Punggur jetty in Batam,
there are daily speedboat services to Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT)
Ferry Terminal on Bintan. The journey takes 35 minutes.