| West Kalimantan Kalimantan Barat |
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| — Province — | |||
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| Motto: Akçaya (Sanskrit) (Immortal) |
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| Location of Province of West Kalimantan in Indonesia | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Indonesia | ||
| Capital | Pontianak | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor | Drs. Cornelis M.H | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 147,307 km2 (56,875.6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2010 Census)[1] | |||
| • Total | 4,393,239 | ||
| • Density | 29.8/km2 (77.2/sq mi) | ||
| Demographics | |||
| • Ethnic groups | Dayak (33.75%), Malay (33.75%), Chinese (10.01%), Javanese (9.41%), Madurese (5.51%), Bugis (3.29%), Sundanese (1.21%), Malay Banjarese (0.66%), Batak (0.56%), Others (1.85%)[2] | ||
| • Religion | Islam (57.6%), Catholic (24.1%), Protestant (10%), Buddhism (6.4%), Hindu (0.2%),others (1.7%) | ||
| • Languages | Indonesian (official), Malay, Dayak, Chinese dialects of Hakka and Teochew | ||
| Time zone | WIB (UTC+7) | ||
| Website | www.kalbarprov.go.id | ||
West Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Barat often abbreviated as Kalbar) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator.
The province has an area of 147,307 km² with a recorded 2010 census population of 4,393,239.[1] Major ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, which make up about 90% of the total population. The rest are Javanese, Bugis, Madurese, and other ethnicities.
The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province.
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The history of West Kalimantan can be dated back to 17th century. Dayaks were the main inhabitants of the province before 17th century. The Malay migrated to West Kalimantan and built their own sultanates. The high Chinese population in this province was due to a republic founded by Chinese miners called Lanfang Republic after they defeated the local Malay sultans. The government of Lanfang Republic was ended in West Kalimantan after the Dutch occupation in 1884.
West Kalimantan was under Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, when Indonesia declared its Independence. During the Japanese occupation, more than 21,000 people in Pontianak (including sultans, nobleman, women and children) were kidnapped, tortured and massacred by Japanese troops. Japanese intelligence had become concerned that the ethnic Chinese were planning to start a rebellion, and were worried that people in the city had received guns and ammunition from the Chinese government.
The massacre occurred from April 23, 1943 to June 28, 1944 and most of the victims were buried in several giant wells in Mandor (88 km from Pontianak). Allied forces occupying the area after the war found several thousand bones, and more than 60 years after the massacre, several secret graves of the victims were found in Mandor and the surrounding areas.
After the end of war, the Japanese officers in Pontianak were arrested by allied troops and brought in front of an international military tribune. During the trial, it was revealed that the plan to start the rebellion did not exist and instead was only an imaginary plan created by Japanese officers who wanted to get promoted.
A monument called Makam Juang Mandor was created to commemorate this tragic event.
West Kalimantan was the site of substantial fighting during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation under the Sukarno government in the mid-1960s. After Suharto deposed Sukarno in 1965, the confrontation was quickly resolved. Domestic conflict continued, however, for another ten years between the new military Suharto government and fighters organized during the confrontation and backed by the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).(see Indonesian killings of 1965–66)
During the 1930's the Dutch colonial powers initiated a "transmigration plan" to move people from heavily populated islands such as Java, to the less populated islands of Irian Jaya and Kalimantan. In the 1960's the Indonesian government granted the Madurese rights to clear lands from forest for palm oil cultivation. This conflicted with the local Dayak tribes’ traditional way of life. The tensions between the two ethnic groups resulted in major eruptions of violence in 1996, 1999 and 2001, resulting in about 500 deaths.[3][4][5]
West Kalimantan is subdivided into two cities (kota) and twelve regencies (kabupaten). The cities are Pontianak and Singkawang; the regencies are Sambas, Bengkayang, Pontianak, Ketapang, Landak, Sanggau, Sekadau, Sintang, Melawi, Kapuas Hulu, and the youngest regencies Kayong Utara and Kubu Raya. About 29 percent of the population lives in the Pontianak area. The capitals and populations of the regencies and cities are:
| Name | Capital | Population 2000 Census |
Population 2005 estimate |
Population 2010 Census [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sambas Regency | Sambas | 454,126 | 476,036 | 496,116 |
| Bengkayang Regency | Benkayang | 333,089 | 193,814 | 214,785 |
| Landak Regency | Ngabang | 282,026 | 307,179 | 330,484 |
| Pontianak Regency | Mempawah | 631,546 | 678,424 | 233,797 |
| Sanggau Regency | Batang Tarang | 508,320 | 367,661 | 407,989 |
| Ketapang Regency | Ketapang | 426,285 | 471,622 | 427,158 |
| Sintang Regency | Sintang | 460,594 | 342,352 | 363,978 |
| Kapuas Hulu Regency | Putussibau | 182,589 | 203,983 | 221,952 |
| Sekadau Regency | Sekadau | (included) | 171,265 | 181,377 |
| Melawi Regency | Nanga Pinoh | (included) | 160,746 | 179,586 |
| North Kayong Regency (Kayong Utara) |
Sukadana | (included) | (included) | 95,605 |
| Kubu Raya Regency | Sungai Raya | (included) | (included) | 498,333 |
| Pontianak City | Pontianak | 472,220 | 482,365 | 550,304 |
| Singkawang City | Singkawang | (included) | 163,374 | 186,306 |
| Totals | 4,016,353 | 4,042,817 | 4,393,239 |
Notes:
There are three National Parks in the province: Danau Sentarum, Gunung Palung and Betung Kerihun. Currently, illegal logging for trees such as dipterocarp and plantations of palm oil and pulpwood threaten many rare species in the province due to the effects of habitat destruction.[6] Peat bog fires and droughts or flooding during ENSO episodes also threaten the area and are worsened by ongoing deforestation.
Dr. Hotlin Ompusunggu has received the 2011 Whitley Award for her conservation work in West Kalimantan. She has been fighting againsts illegal logging by trade off with low-cost quality dental and medical treatment to 60,000 villagers on condition they involve in reforestation and conservation work.[7]
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