Malinau Regency is a
regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of
North Kalimantan
North Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. North Kalimantan borders the Malaysian states of Sabah to the north and Sarawak t ...
Province in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. The administrative centre is the town of
Malinau
The town of Malinau is one of the districts of Malinau Regency in North Kalimantan Province of Indonesia and is also the administrative capital of the Regency. The latest official estimate of population (as at mid 2021) was 27,140.Badan Pusat Stat ...
. The regency is home to the
Kayan Mentarang National Park
Kayan Mentarang National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Kayan Mentarang) is a densely forested national park located in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The national park is named after a great dispersed Mentara ...
. It covers an area of 40,088.38 km
2, and had a population of 62,423 at the 2010 Census and 82,510 at the 2020 Census;
the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 83,796. It is the regency with the largest area in the province, as well as the least densely populated.
Other than that, Malinau is the only regency in North Kalimantan that is predominantly
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and the second most-developed region in North Kalimantan after
Tarakan
Tarakan is an island and the largest city of the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. The island city is located in northern Borneo, midway along the coast of the province. The city boundaries are co-extensive with the island (including a co ...
in terms of
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...
.
History
Malinau
The town of Malinau is one of the districts of Malinau Regency in North Kalimantan Province of Indonesia and is also the administrative capital of the Regency. The latest official estimate of population (as at mid 2021) was 27,140.Badan Pusat Stat ...
was originally a residential area inhabited by the
Tidung
The Tidung, Tidong ( Jawi: تيدوڠ) are a native group originating from northeastern part of Borneo and surrounding small islands. They live on both sides of the border of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Tidung speak Tidong language, a North Borne ...
ethnic group. Based on information from
Tidung
The Tidung, Tidong ( Jawi: تيدوڠ) are a native group originating from northeastern part of Borneo and surrounding small islands. They live on both sides of the border of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Tidung speak Tidong language, a North Borne ...
community leaders, the name
Malinau
The town of Malinau is one of the districts of Malinau Regency in North Kalimantan Province of Indonesia and is also the administrative capital of the Regency. The latest official estimate of population (as at mid 2021) was 27,140.Badan Pusat Stat ...
originated when the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
settled an area formerly known as Selamban. At the time Selamban was inhabited by the Tidung Tribe, while across the Kabiran river the village Pelita Canaan was inhabited by the
Dayak Abai tribe. When the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
arrived in Selamban they met a group of Abai who were harvesting
sago
Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...
from the
sago palm
Sago palm is a common name for several plants which are used to produce a starchy food known as sago. Sago palms may be "true palms" in the family Arecaceae, or cycads with a palm-like appearance. Sago produced from cycads must be detoxified before ...
, and asked the name of the river that ran between the two villages. The Abai did not understand the questions, and assumed the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
wanted to know what they were working on. One of the Abai said "Mal Inau" which means harvesting
sago
Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...
in the local Abai language; "mal" meaning making, while "inau" means tree. Thus the name Malinau was born. A map of the area made during the
colonial period called the local river "the Malinau", and the area has been known as
Malinau
The town of Malinau is one of the districts of Malinau Regency in North Kalimantan Province of Indonesia and is also the administrative capital of the Regency. The latest official estimate of population (as at mid 2021) was 27,140.Badan Pusat Stat ...
since.
As people migrated into Selamban, it eventually grew much larger and became a town, renamed Malinau. When
Bulungan Regency
Bulungan Regency is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of North Kalimantan Province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 13,181.92 km2 and had a population of 112,663 at the 2010 Census and 151,844 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre is ...
was divided in 1999, Malinau became the administrative centre of the newly formed Malinau Regency. In December 2012, Malinau Regency became part of the new province of
North Kalimantan
North Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. North Kalimantan borders the Malaysian states of Sabah to the north and Sarawak t ...
.
Geography
Malinau borders
Nunukan Regency
Nunukan Regency is a list of regencies and cities of Indonesia, regency of North Kalimantan Province in Indonesia. Nunukan Regency shares Indonesia-Malaysia border, international borders with the Malaysian states of Sabah to the north and Sarawak t ...
in the north,
Tana Tidung,
Bulungan
Bulungan Regency is a regency of North Kalimantan Province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 13,181.92 km2 and had a population of 112,663 at the 2010 Census and 151,844 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre is at Tanjung Selor.
His ...
, and
Berau regencies in the east,
East Kutai,
Kutai Kartanegara
Kutai Kartanegara Regency (abbreviated as ''Kukar'') is a regency of East Kalimantan province, Indonesia. It has a land area of 27,263.10 km2 and a water area of 4,097 km2, geographically located between 1°18′40″S and 116°31′36 ...
, and
West Kutai regencies in the south, and the Malaysian state of
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
in the west. From its 40,088.38 square kilometers of area,
Kayan Mentarang National Park
Kayan Mentarang National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Kayan Mentarang) is a densely forested national park located in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The national park is named after a great dispersed Mentara ...
consist of 24.88% of total regency's area. Other than that, other 16.97% of the regency is protected forest, and 49.69% is production forest. Topography in Malinau varies between altitude of 0 to 2,000 metres above sea level with slope between 0% to 40%. Human settlement and ricefields are mostly found between region with slope of 3% to 15%. The regency is considered located on relatively high altitude compared to its neighbouring regions.
Soil composition in the region is mostly
ultisol
Ultisols, commonly known as red clay soils, are one of twelve soil orders in the United States Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy. The word "Ultisol" is derived from "ultimate", because Ultisols were seen as the ultimate product of continu ...
,
inceptisol
Inceptisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. They form quickly through alteration of parent material. They are more developed than Entisols. They have no accumulation of clays, iron oxide, aluminium oxide or organic matter. They have an o ...
,
entisol
Entisols are soils defined in USDA soil taxonomy that do not show any profile development other than an A horizon. An entisol has no diagnostic horizons, and most are basically unaltered from their parent material, which can be unconsolidated sedi ...
, and
podzol
In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of hum ...
and most of them are of old formation. The majority of soil composition in the region is considered infertile and unsuitable for large-scale farming. However, there is also significant area dominated by
alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
soil which is mostly found in lower altitudes between 15 and 25 metres above sea level.
As with most region in Indonesia, the climate is tropical with high humidity. Annual rainfall is between 2,500 and more than 4,000 millimeters. Average temperature sits on 26 Celsius with slight variation, between 5 and 7 degrees, between day and night temperature. The coldest period is between November and January while highest average temperature is on April.
Governance
Administrative districts
As at the 2010 Census, the regency was divided into twelve districts (''kecamatan''),
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
(''kecamatan''), but three additional districts were subsequently created by splitting off from existing districts. The fifteen districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census
[Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.] and the 2020 Census.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.] The table includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (rural ''desa'' and urban ''kelurahan'') in each district, and its post code.
Note: (a) the 2010 populations of these three new districts are included in the figures for the districts from which they were cut out.
Local government
Malinau Regency is a second-level administrative division equivalent to
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
. As a regency, it is headed by a regent who is elected democratically. Meanwhile, head of districts are appointed directly by the regent with the recommendation of the regency secretary. Executive power lies with the regent and vice regent, while legislative function is exercised by the regency's parliament.
Politics
![Gedung DPRD Malinau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Gedung_DPRD_Malinau.JPG)
Malinau Regency is part of the 3rd North Kalimantan electoral district, which has 4 out of 35 representatives in the provincial parliament. On local level, the regency is divided into two electoral districts that in total have 20 representatives. Last election was in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
and the next one would be in 2024.
Economy
![Night at Malinau Kota](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Night_at_Malinau_Kota.jpg)
Economy of the regency is dominated by mining industry, which consist of 48.29% of its gross regional product. Second largest sector is construction with figure of 17.19%, followed by agriculture with 11.40%, and trade with 4.39%. However, mining especially coal has been declining in terms of value, shown by decrease of 4.61% on 2020 and mining in general with figure of decrease 3.55% on the same year. On the same year, the economic growth in the regency reached decrease of 0.62%. The fastest growing sector in 2020 was electricity and gas with 13.61%, followed by healthcare and social sector with 10.66% increase.
In 2020, the regency produces total of 985 tons of various vegetables and 3,209 tons of various fruits. The most populous livestock in the regency is chicken with more than 700,000 followed by pig with population of 12,015, ducks with population of 3,509, and cattle with population of 1,940.
The regency is visited by 14,555 domestic tourists and 39 foreign tourists in 2020. 58% of tourist destination is nature due to presence of national park. There are 17 registered hotels in the regency and 17 registered restaurants. Number of restaurants including unregistered one could be higher. Service sector has been growing helped with regency government aiming at reducing dependency on mining and resource extraction and promoting tourism & restaurant sector. However, on late 2020 five hotels closed operation because of
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Poverty rate in 2020 was 6.63%.
Demographics
Population growth in 2020 was 2.71% with sex ratio of 115, means there are 115 male for every 100 female population. 32.27% of regency's population live on its regency seat, Malinau Kota district. As with most of regions in Indonesia, its population is dominated by reproductive age above 15 years which consist of 69.01% of population. District with highest population growth is North Malinau with figure of 3.66% in 2020 and the lowest is South Malinau with population decreased 3.6% on the same year. The most dense district is Malinau Kota, with density of 187.41 people per square kilometer and the least dense is Kayan Hilir with density of 0.13 per square kilometer. From the population, 41,300 people considered economically active by
Statistics Indonesia
Statistics Indonesia ( id, Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS, ), is a non-departmental government institute of Indonesia that is responsible for conducting statistical surveys. Its main customer is the government, but statistical data is also availabl ...
. Dominant religion in the regency is Protestant which sits around 60% of the population followed by minority of Muslim, Catholic, and Buddhist.
Infrastructure
![RSUD Malinau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/RSUD_Malinau.JPG)
There are exactly 36 kindergartens, 108 elementary schools, 40 junior highschools, 19 senior highschools, in addition to 4 vocational highschools. There's only one higher education institution in the regency, which is Malinau Polytech, located in North Malinau district. It is a private institution established in 2007 and offers diploma in business administration, accounting, plantation cultivation, and information. School participation rate was 93.28% in 2020 and literacy rate was 98.34% on the same year.
On healthcare facility, there are three hospitals, one polyclinic, 97 puskesmas, and 9 pharmacy. Malinau Regional Hospital, owned by regency government, is main hospital and the largest in the regency, located in North Malinau district. It is considered C-class hospital by Ministry of Health. In addition, the regency has 123 healthcare centers and 6 operational medical clinics.
![Islamic Center Malinau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Islamic_Center_Malinau.JPG)
There are exactly 59 mosques, 174 Protestant churches, 35 Catholic churches, a
Balinese temple
A pura is a Balinese Hindu temple, and the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built in accordance to rules, style, guidance and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island o ...
, and a
Chinese Buddhist temple. The only Balinese Hindu temple in the regency is named Pura Agung Femung Jagatnatha and located in Malinau Kota district. It is mostly used by Balinese migrants.
Length of road in the regency is 1,043.20 kilometers, out of which only 167.42 kilometers have been sealed and paved. Malinau Kota, the regency seat and most populous district, is connected by
Perum DAMRI
DAMRI Public Corporation ( id, Perusahaan Umum DAMRI; was ''Djawatan Angkoetan Motor Repoeblik Indonesia'', lit. Motor Transport Enterprise of the Republic of Indonesia) is an Indonesian state-owned bus operator. Under further development as a ...
bus to
Tanjung Selor
Tanjung Selor is the capital of both the North Kalimantan province in Indonesia, and of the Bulungan Regency. It is among provincial capitals in Indonesia that as of 2021 does not yet have city status, together with Mamuju in West Sulawesi, So ...
and
Nunukan Regency
Nunukan Regency is a list of regencies and cities of Indonesia, regency of North Kalimantan Province in Indonesia. Nunukan Regency shares Indonesia-Malaysia border, international borders with the Malaysian states of Sabah to the north and Sarawak t ...
. The regency is served by
Robert Atty Bessing Airport
Robert Atty Bessing Airport , also known as Kolonel R.A. Bessing Airport, :id:Bandar Udara R.A. Bessing is an airport in Malinau, North Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is located in the Indonesian territory of Kalimantan on the island of Borneo
...
, which seen 1,051 departures and 959 arrivals in 2020 with more than 25,000 passengers both arrived and departed. Due to abundance of navigable river and lack of adequate road infrastructure, speedboat through river is one of main transportation in the regency which served movement of around 48,975 people in 2020. However, this is sharp decrease from previous figure of 116,032 in 2019. In 2016, most of the regency have access to 4G signal.
As with many regions in Indonesia, the only fiber optic service provider in the regency is
IndiHome
IndiHome (abbreviated from Indonesia Digital Home) is a home telephone, internet, and Internet Protocol television services owned by Telkom Indonesia. IndiHome was launched on 2015 to replace Speedy (Telkom), Speedy. Its packages also come with di ...
which is state-owned under
Telkom Indonesia
PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, also simply known as Telkom, is an Indonesian multinational telecommunications conglomerate. Telkom is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange. T ...
.
See also
*
List of regencies and cities of Indonesia
Regencies (''kabupaten'') and cities (''kota'') are the second-level administrative subdivision in Indonesia, immediately below the provinces, and above the districts. Regencies are roughly equivalent to American counties, although most citi ...
References
*
{{North Kalimantan
Regencies of North Kalimantan