Population and Geographical Distribution

The Riau Melayu (or Riau Malays) are the largest and most dominant ethnic group in the Riau province of Indonesia. This province comprises part of southern Sumatra island, the Lingga archipelago and the Riau islands, a huge land mass of over 94,000 sq km and 3,214 islands.

The Riau Melayu have historically assimilated large numbers of nomadic and migrating peoples into their culture, such as the Banjarese, Minangkabau, Javanese, Mandailing and Bugis.

Today, there are an estimated 2.2 million Riau Melayu people including the ethnic groups they have assimilated historically. Some 1.6 million Riau Melayu live on the Sumatra mainland, primarily in settlements along the three great rivers (Indragiri, Kampar and Siak), while another 600,000 live on the Riau islands.

Language and Dialects

The primary language of most Riau Melayu is Bahasa Indonesia. Riau Melayu, a dialect of Malay, is used at home and among themselves.

Economy and Livelihood

The Riau province exhibits many of the features of a “dual” economy. On the one hand there is the high technology, capital intensive oil sector, and on the other a traditional low technology and agricultural sector.

Riau province contains the most productive oil fields in Indonesia and pumps half the nation’s crude oil each day. Over 85% of the province’s GDP is generated by petroleum and natural gas production. Pekanbaru, the regional capital of Riau province, acts as the administrative center of the oil industry in the area. The majority of native Riau islanders are farmers and active fishermen. About 62% are farmers growing and harvesting products from rubber, oil palm and gambir trees.

Two of the most advanced of the Riau islands are Batam and Bintan, currently the focus of multi-million dollar investment opportunties. In 1989 the Singapore government proposed the linkage of Johor (the southernmost state on peninsula Malaysia), Singapore and the Riau Islands in a synergistic "Growth Triangle" —a free-trade economic zone that would benefit all three areas. As Batam and Bintan continue to develop, industrial workers and employees in large tourist resorts are expected to outpace the number of farmers and fishermen. The greatest need at present is the meaningful vocational training or work activities for youth, because a vast number of them are unemployed.

Culture

Riau province is proud of its historical role in the development of Malay culture. Most of the Riau Melayu peoples see themselves as being open, friendly and accepting of newcomers. They feel this has been an important part of their historical tradition, since for centuries they have lived in cordial proximity to the Bugis, Makasar, Chinese and Javanese peoples.

Religion

Islam is the religion for 99.99% of the Riau Melayu people. They have been taught from childhood that Islam alone is the true religion for their people.