Bameswaralogs - Batam is one of the largest cities in the Riau Islands Province (KEPRI). The Batam City area consists of Batam Island, Rempang Island, Galang Island, and several other island areas around the Strait of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca. This island is also one of the areas included in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ). Besides Batam City, other Indonesian regions included in the international free trade zone include Bintan Island, Karimun Island, and Sabang.
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| Peta Kota Batam (Maps) |
A GLIMPSE OF BATAM CITY'S HISTORY
Batam Island's ancient history can be traced back to 1000 AD, when the Mongols and Indo-Aryans sailed and settled in the Malay kingdoms, before the Islamic kingdoms of Malacca and Bintan were established. There is little literature explaining the origin of the name Batam. However, the Treaty of London (1824) states that Batam was inhabited by Strait Islanders, or sea people, who made their living as fishermen and farmers. According to Chinese voyages, Batam Island has been inhabited since 231 AD by Strait Islanders.
Batam became part of the Johor Kingdom in 1513 AD, when the island was inhabited by Malays known as the Strait People or Sea People. Strait people have occupied Batam since the Tumasik Kingdom was still in existence, and the Tumasik Kingdom is now part of Singapore, one of the small, technologically advanced countries renowned in Asia.
Due to its strategic location, Batam Island was considered by several colonial powers such as the Portuguese, British, and Dutch. At the time of the collapse of the Tumasik kingdom, Batam Island became the territory of the Malacca kingdom. During the glory of the Malacca kingdom, the island was led by an Admiral called Admiral Hang Tuah. Admiral Hang Tuah occupied the city of Batam and resided on Bentang Island or what is now Bintan. Admiral Hang Tuah tried to continue the struggle to provide resistance against the colonialists on several islands that were under the control of the Malayan kingdom.
After Malacca fell, the reins of power on Batam Island were held by Admiral Hang Nadim who was based on Bintan Island, after the death of Admiral Hang Nadim. So Batam Island was under the rule of the Sultan of Johor until the mid-18th century.In the 18th century, the struggle for territory on the island of Batam between the British and the Dutch was very sharp to control the Malacca Strait as their trade base. Bandar or Singapore City, which was very developed as a trading port, encouraged the Dutch to control the waters around the Malacca Strait and the Singapore Strait, this resulted in various clandestine trade smuggling from the Riau Islands to Singapore.Batam Island's proximity to Singapore at that time was very advantageous for traders, providing shelter from Dutch patrols. In the 18th century, a meeting between the British and Dutch empires, represented by Lord Minto and Raffles, led to a barter with the Dutch government, resulting in the British handing over Batam Island to the Dutch.
With the emergence of the Riau Lingga kingdom and the formation of Hang Jebat, the Young Prince of Riau, Batam Island and the surrounding Riau islands came under the control of the Young Prince of Riau until the end of the Malay Riau Kingdom in 1911. Resistance against colonialism was ultimately continued by the residents of the Riau Islands until independence in 1945, when Batam Island became part of Indonesia.
After Indonesian independence, Batam Island was abandoned and became a deserted wilderness, almost devoid of civilization and life. The remaining locals relied solely on fishing and farming for their livelihoods. Due to their limited resources, they were not involved in any significant changes to the island's wilderness.In 1970, the Indonesian central government began to pay attention to Batam Island and developed it as a logistics and operational base for the oil and gas industry, spearheaded by Pertamina, with the initial goal of making Batam the Singapore of Indonesia. Through central government regulation, Presidential Decree No. 41 of 1973, the development of Batam Island was entrusted to the Batam Island Industrial Development Authority, later renamed the Batam Entrepreneurs Agency (BP Batam), which served as the driving force behind the island's development.
With the rapid development of Batam Island in the 1980s, based on Government Regulation No. 34 of 1983, the Batam sub-district, part of the Riau Islands Regency, was elevated to Batam Municipality/Batam City, tasked with administering government and community affairs and supporting development efforts by the Batam Authority Agency (BP Batam).
In the reform era in 1990, through Law No. 53 of 1999, Batam City changed its status to an autonomous region of Batam City Government to carry out government and development functions by involving BP Batam. And currently, the Batam City Government plans to synergize or integrate the government and community administration of the autonomous region of Batam City to accelerate development from upstream to downstream in the islands of Batam City.
Historical Development of Batam
1. 1969-1975 Preparation Period / Initial Development:
a. This was the initial period, when Batam Island was initially designated as a logistics base to support offshore oil exploration activities coordinated by Pertamina.b. During this period, Batam Island was designated as an Industrial Area through Presidential Decree No. 41 of 1973 and the designation of Sekupang, Kabil, and Batu Ampar as bonded warehouses.
2. 1975-1983 Consolidation and Consolidation Period
Continued Development Plan.
a. Given the recession within Pertamina, the responsibility for the Development of the Batam Island Industrial Area was transferred, with delegated authority including land management rights, evictions, investment permits, and the designation of the entire Batam Island area as a Bonded Warehouse.b. From 1976 to 1983, Batam entered a period of global economic development. To facilitate development, Presidential Decree No. 144/78, dated August 29, 1978, was issued, appointing Prof. Dr. Ing. B.J. Habibie as Chairman of the Batam Authority.
3. Period 1983 to present: Investment and industrial development.
a. During this period, Batam was widely marketed and its development and results were clearly demonstrated. In 1984, the Batam Authority's working area was expanded and the Janda Island cluster, decorated with Tanjung Sauh, Ngenang, Kasem, and Moi-moi, was added.
b. Given the growing demand for government and community services, during this period, Batam Municipality was established through Government Regulation No. 34 of 1983, followed by Presidential Decree No. 7 of 1984, which regulated the working relationship between Batam Municipality and the Batam Authority.
c. With the issuance of Law No. 53 of 1999 concerning the establishment of new regencies/cities in Riau Province, as an embodiment of Law No. 22 of 1999 concerning Regional Government, Batam City, from its original administrative status as Batam City, changed its status to Batam City. Therefore, the government structure and regional planning have also undergone changes, from three sub-districts to eight after autonomy. This has also included the addition of technical departments and the status change of several vertical agencies to autonomous ones. This is intended to enable the Batam City Government to provide better public services.
d. Batam City is now a city, meaning it is a new autonomous region, along with seven regencies in Riau Province, based on Law No. 53 of 1999 concerning the establishment of Palalawan Regency, Rokan Hulu Regency, Rokan Hilir Regency, Karimun Regency, Kuantan Sengingi Regency, and Batam City.
4. Before becoming a city, Batam was initially just a sub-district, namely Batam District, within the administrative area of the Riau Islands Regency. Then, with Batam's development into an industrial, trade, and transshipment area, based on Government Regulation No. 34 of 1983, Batam was developed into a municipality with administrative status equal to other regencies/municipalities in the same level as other regencies/municipalities in the same level.
- North: Singapore Strait and Singapore
- East: Bintan Island and Tanjung Pinang
- South: Lingga Regency
- West: Karimun Regency
Government system
Initially, Batam City had a dual government system between the Municipal Government and the Batam Business Agency. On September 17, 2019, this dual government system ended, and the Batam Business Agency was transferred to the Batam Mayoral Government based on Government Regulation (PP) Number 62 of 2019 concerning the Second Amendment to PP 46/2007 concerning the Batam Free Trade Zone and Free Port.
Foreign Consulate
1. Hong Kong, People's Republic of China2. Malaysia
3. Singapore
4. People's Republic of China
5. Japan
6. Australia
Administrative Business Licensing Services
In Batam City, the business licensing system or administration of population and business documents is carried out through I-BOS (Indonesia Batam Single Submission). In other cities, OSS (Open Single Submission) may be used. If you are in Batam City, then I-BOS is used.
1. Indonesian Wikipedia on Batam City
2. A Brief History of Batam City, Archive Documents from the Riau Islamic University Library
3. Batam City Profile Book 2022, Batam City Communications and Informatics Office