The Chinese of Karimun: Citizenship and Belonging at Indonesia's Margins

Like many parts of Riau Islands Province (Kepri), the island of Karimun has a much higher proportion of Chinese than most other areas of Indonesia. In 1930, the Chinese – the majority of them newcomers – represented more than one third of the total population in Karimun and Bintan (Ng 1976: 19-20). By the year 2000 over 85 percent of Chinese living in the islands were born in the province (Ananta et al. 2008: 35). Many in the community can now trace their roots back three or four generations. At the same time, however, the location of the islands directly south of Singapore (see Figure 1) has meant that they continue to have opportunities for frequent contact with family and business associates across the Straits.