Sungai Selan is a
district
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'') of
Central Bangka Regency, in the
Bangka-Belitung province of
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 ...
.
History
Sungai Selan was the initial point for the spread of
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
into Bangka, originating from Catholic Chinese physician Tsjen On Ngie (1795–1871) who moved from
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
into Sungai Selan in 1830, and his house gradually became a makeshift chapel with statues and prayer rooms. By 1853, a resident priest had been assigned to the area, and although the number of Catholics fluctuated (recorded at 379 in 1967, mainly Chinese migrant workers who often returned to China), a
Capuchin friar was assigned to Sungai Selan in 1912, until 1918 when shifts in the tin mining industry resulted in a relocation of the mission to
Pangkal Pinang. During this period, a
beriberi
Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The two main types in adults are wet beriberi and dry beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, r ...
outbreak in 1883 amongst Chinese migrant workers killed half of the congregation. The Sungai Selan mission was the first Catholic mission in the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
outside Java.
During a Dutch administrative organization of
Bangka Island
Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in In ...
in 1854, Sungai Selan was one of nine districts defined. Following Indonesian independence, a reorganization of administrative divisions of Bangka in 2003 placed Sungai Selan in the
Central Bangka Regency.
Administration
Sungai Selan is subdivided into the urban village (''kelurahan'') of Sungai Selan which serves as the administrative center and twelve regular villages (''desa'').
Economy
Agriculture and tin mining comprises the largest sources of employment in the district, with
oil palm
''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its co ...
and
black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...
being major commodities.
The district hosts a river port operated by the government-owned PT Pelindo II. The port serves
speedboats crossing from
South Sumatra, and handles around 200 tons of cargo daily.
References
{{reflist
Districts of the Bangka Belitung Islands
Populated places in the Bangka Belitung Islands