Pakan is a small town in

Pakan District Pakan District is an administrative district in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, covering an area of . The town of Pakan is the capital of the Pakan district, located 45 km from the town of Sarikei Sarikei is a town, and the capital of ...

Sarikei Division Sarikei Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of the Third Division, which included Sibu and Kapit, Sarikei Division has a total area of , and is the second smallest of the administrative div ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The district population estimates (as of the 2017 census) was 17,600. Most of its inhabitants are ethnic

Iban people The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples on the island of Borneo in South East Asia. Dayak is a title given by the westerners to the local people of Borneo island. It is believed that the term "Iban" was originally an exonym ...

(95%+) and a few minority Chinese usually concentrated in its town area. A small minority of Malay work in a government sector, such as teachers, nurses, district officers, and police.

Etymology

The name ''Pakan'' was derived from a local fruit resembling

durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...

, named ''Buah Pakan''. It has yellowish skin and flesh.Yii, 2010. Page 285 The fruit has since become the symbol of the town with its replica built at the junction of Entabai road.

History

In 1911, a man from

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

named Wen Ru Zhu (翁如珠) was the first Chinese to arrive in

Sarikei Sarikei is a town, and the capital of Sarikei District (985 square kilometres) in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located on the Rajang River, near where the river empties into the South China Sea. The district population (year 201 ...

. Four years later in 1915, he together with one of his family member, brought some daily necessities, climbed through the mountains and arrive in Pakan to trade with the

living there for agricultural products. Apart from Iban

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from timber and often rep ...

s and rubber plantations, there were no Chinese houses there. The Iban people welcomed the arrival of Wen as he brought the much needed daily necessities to them. The journey to and from Pakan took about ten days. Wen would build a small hut in Pakan to stay there for some days before going back to Sarikei. Later, he married an Iban woman in Pakan and started a family. Later, more Chinese came here to build shophouses and to trade with Iban people.Yii, 2010. Page 285 In 1937, Penghulu Asun staged a rebellion against the Brooke government in Pakan. In 1957, Min Jin primary school (民进小学) was built. In 1968, there was a flood in Pakan.Yii, 2010. Page 287

Government

Meradong and Julau District Council Pakan branch

Since creation of the

in 1973, the Pakan sub-district was put under the jurisdiction of

Julau Julau is a town, and the capital of the Julau District (1703.39 square kilometres) in Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The district population (year 2020 census) i15, 333 The population is dominated by Iban people, Iban as well as Chinese ...

district. On 1 March 2002, the Pakan sub-district was upgraded into a district. The

covers a total area of , administered by Pakan District Office located in the town of Pakan.

Geography

Pakan is located from the town of

Longhouses

*Tr. Rawing, Ulu Marau *Tr. Empati anak idai, Nanga Marau *Tr. Saban Sungai Ipoh, Pakan *Tr. Undi, Sg Pantak (once niang Tr Taling) *Tr. Sedau Ak Empali *Tr. Nyambar, Ulu Kota, Pakan *Tr. Bujang * Rumah Jilap Bt6 Jalan Entabai Pakan *Tr. Matu Anak Dingun Bt3 Pakan *Tr. Matthew Nawong, Lubuk Pisang, Sg Genega *Tr. Tukang, Nyalak Atas *Tr. James Anak Jantan, Darau. *Tr. Andrew Ungon, Darau *Tr. George anak Chungut, Nanga Nansang *Tr. Ganda anak Saba, Manding, Sungai Lemujan *Tr. Attan anak Ana, Lubok Ubi, Sugai *Tr. Linggang anak Kaya, Merampu *Tr. Liman anak Lawo, Munggu Temedak *Tr. Kalong anak Asa *Tr. Janang anak Silang, Sg.Wong, Wak *Tr. Barang Sg Empang, Pakan *Tr. Empi Tanjung, Pakan *Tr. Ladi Nasau, Pakan *Tr. Empek Nasau, Pakan *Tr. Imban, Genting Kopi Pakan *Tr. Jantan, Genting, Kopi Pakan *Tr. Safri, Tubai Buah, Pakan *Tr. Nyalong Nanga Segera, Pakan *Tr. Gandai,Tubai Buah, Pakan *Tr. Budom, Tubai Buah, Pakan *Tr. Menari, Ng Pedanum *Tr. Ragai Sungai Jaong, Pakan *Tr. Japar Ulu Kemalih, Entabai

Climate

Pakan has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Demographics

Ethnicity

In 2010, Pakan town had a total population of 14,570, where there were 14,023

, 402 Chinese, 80 Malays, and 65 from other ethnic groups.Yii, 2010. Page 285

Places of worship

* St. Francis Assisi Church * BEM (SIB) Nanga Pakan * Chapel St Joseph, Ulu Kota * Mosque (beside Klinik Pakan) * Surau Zulkarnain, Rumah Julin, Kg Amut (sponsored by Yayasan Amal Malaysia Cawangan Sarawak)

Economy

Another black pepper plantation near the Pakan road

In 2017,

had 2,000 hectares of pepper farms with 5,800 farmers working on them.

Transport

Local Bus

Alternate road

New road alternative connecting user from Sibu to go directly to Ulu Budu in Saratok district by passing through Pakan provides a shorter time compared to the existing one which passes through T-junction to Sarikei. What used to be about 3 hours journey from Sibu to Saratok will take only about 2 hours. So users on a long journey to Kuching benefit a lot from this road. Sibu -> Julau -> Bintangor -> Sarikei -> Pakan -> Wak -> Ulu Budu -> Saratok

Other utilities

Education

;Primary schools * SK Nanga Pakan * SK Nanga Kara * SK Sungai Sugai * SK Nanga Wak * Sk Nanga Sembawang * Sk Ulu Manding * Sk Nanga Pedanum * Sk Nanga Kota * Sk Nanga Dayu * Sk Ulu Entabai * Sk Ulu Entaih * Sk Nanga Entaih ;Secondary school * SMK Pakan * (extra information) SMK Meradong (Bintangor), SMK Bintangor (Bintangor), the nearest school most of the upper six students attended after they finishing their form 5.

Culture and leisure

Cultural

Kerangan Rantau Enjin, Lubok Kelau, Sg Julau

''Pesta Pakan'' (Pakan festival) is a yearly festival held in the town of Pakan since 1988 and usually held around August. It consisted of various activities such as sports, entertainment, culture, and arts and various stalls selling food such as Smoke house (Ruman Asap) and drinks.

Historical

* Lumbung Rentap at Bukit Sibau (Rentap's final resting place) * Bukit Uyu (the grave of the Rentap's follower, Uyu, Medan and two more)