Khek
The first Chinese came between 1740
and 1745, and were mostly Khek and Hakka, followed by Teochiu. However, long
before, in 1293, a Chinese expedition force sailed to Java to attack Singosari,
whose ruler had insulted the Chinese emperor, Kublai Khan. They were repelled
to West Kalimantan, where they built a settlement.
After 1745, the Khek people started
coming in groups, working at the gold mines. Some of them grew pepper, rubber
trees and tobacco, others went to Bangka and Belitung, because their gardens were
taken by the Dutch. The Chinese population, however, kept increasing as ruler
such as Panembahan Mempawah and the Sultan of Sambas recruited labor from China
to work in the area. In the middle of the 19th century, the Chinese established
companies, such as the Thai Kong and Tho Kiu. They also took over lands,
gardens and mines. The number of Chinese temples and the various traditions
associated with them attest to the significance of the Chinese influence in
West Kalimantan. Some of those temples are many centuries old.
Today, the Chinese account to
approximately one-eight of the province's total population of 2.5 million. By
comparison, the Dayaks make up 41 %, the Malay 39 %, the Bugis 5 % and Javanese
2 % of that total. In several areas, such as Pontianak, the percentage of the
Chinese population is seen bigger. In Pontianak, for example, they make up
about 25 % of the total. The same is true the Sambas regency.
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