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.