Explore Penyengat Island which is close to Riau’s Malay
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Penyengat Island? Yes, of course immediately imagined in the mind, an island with many insects that are ready to sting anyone who comes close.
But don’t worry, visitors who set foot on this 2.4 square km island will not be greeted by stinging bees. Except a wharf with several wooden crossing boats that are ready to pamper the eyes, not to miss the aroma of the smoke of fish being grilled also tempts the sense of smell as if it is ready to shake the tongue.
Heading to the small island can be reached in about 10-15 minutes from the pier located in the city of Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands, using a motor boat or popularly called pompong with a one-way price of IDR 9,000 per person.
Boarding this motor-driven wooden ship, passengers will be pampered with residential buildings that stand firmly above the puddles of sea water as well as the crashing waves that seem to invite the mind to daydream and free the mind from the snares of the frenzy of daily activities.
Entering the month of July-August, the sea wind is really strong, but the skipper of the pontoon seems to have prepared buoys for the passengers just in case. A middle-aged man was also quick to bring the passengers to the destination pier safely after breaking the waves.
The pier with typical Malay ornaments in yellow and green welcomes, motor rickshaws also lined up waiting for passengers. Not far from the pier, you can see a mosque with a striking yellow color with a bold dome to welcome. The building is the Sultan Riau Grand Mosque.
This mosque, a relic of the Riau-Lingga Kingdom, is one of the locations for visitors to take photos and perform the five daily prayers. The development of this mosque is done by the community in mutual cooperation by providing energy, thoughts, and even food.
With so many people donating eggs, the building materials of this mosque are said to be mixed with uneaten egg whites. Therefore, this mosque is often known as the white egg mosque.
Shifting to another location that is also steeped in history and does not charge an entry fee aka free, visitors can go around to the Bukit Kursi Defense Fort. This fort is still related to the Riau-Lingga kingdom which made this the largest fort on Penyengat Island as a defense center during the time of Yang Dipertuan Muda IV, Raja Haji Fisabililah. In this Fort, still keep the cannons that are in the corner.
On the other side of Penyengat Island, there is a traditional village hall named Balai Adat Indera Perkasa, this building facing the sea will pamper visitors with thick Malay nuances and full of past history.
The hall, which consists of the main hall, surrounded by five smaller halls, has a large enough yard to be able to accommodate a large number of guests for large events.
Looking closer at the main hall, there is a row of literary works in the form of poems called Gurindam 12 pinned to the wall of the hall’s entrance. This Gurindam is an old Malay poem written by Raja Ali Haji, known as a writer and National Hero from Penyengat Island. The beautiful poem was completed by Raja Ali Haji on 23 Rajab 1264 Hijri or 1874 AD when he was 38 years old.
Going around to other locations that are not too far away, visitors can take a religious tour at the tombs of Engku Putri Raja Hamidah and Raja Ali. This tomb seems to be one of the religious tourist locations that is often visited by Indonesian tourists (wisnus) and foreign tourists (wisman). It is said that visitors who want a baby often pray to the Almighty God in this place.
Looking deeper into cultural art in Penyengat Island, there is a special Malay procession, namely the procession of sweet flour clapping that is done on certain events that has a deep meaning and is connected to prayer.
Having the opportunity to enjoy this special Malay traditional procession, Minister of Tourism (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Uno revealed that this tradition should be preserved because it has a deep meaning.
“This is a tradition that is full of our cultural wisdom, and we must preserve it because it contains a lot of good prayers,” said Mas Menteri, his familiar greeting.
This tradition is a traditional Riau Malay procession of the legacy of previous kings which is usually done as a form of gratitude for the fulfillment of a wish or effort.
While the procession is done by sprinkling “fresh flour” which consists of various ingredients, among them white rice, rice mixed with turmeric powder, rice that is roasted without oil (rice, rose water mixed with rice juice or known as cold powder or fresh flour water) and sprinkled with the media of gandarusa leaves, cuang-cuang leaves, and thousand-ribu leaves.
The secretary of the Malay Customs Board (LAM) Raja Ak Hafiz said that turmeric rice has the meaning of being given generosity of sustenance, white rice symbolizes purity and fresh flour water as a cooling agent.
Culinary
Traveling is not complete if you haven’t enjoyed the local specialties of the region. On Penyengat Island, culinary locations are very easy to find and not far from the arrival pier.
This island offers the enjoyment of fresh seafood or boga bahari with special seasonings such as grilled fish with thick red seasoning, served with sambal terasi and sambal acar which is spicy and slightly sour. Another option is fish in a spicy sour sauce that is fresh and shakes the tongue when hunger strikes.
While waiting for fish and other seafood to be cooked, visitors will be offered a portion of grilled fish brains wrapped in coconut leaves. Unlike the pale white fish brains that are often found in Jakarta, the fish brains in Penyengat Island are actually red and have the special aroma of coconut leaves that wrap them.
This snack is served as it is after being baked, without the accompaniment of sambal for cocoa. There are two types of fish brain variants, some are made from fish and squid. Cuts of fish meat and squid are still visible in texture, savory with a little spicy taste.
Another thing that is unique here is the special drink of the kings of Johor-Riau Lingga that can be tasted called air dohot.
The traditional drinks that are nominated for the most popular traditional drinks in the Indonesian Charm Awards (API) 2019 are from dried fruits in the form of Chinese dates (buah dohot), raisins, longan/longan, persimmons, and goji berries or kici. The dried fruits are then cooked until boiling and left to rest for 3-4 hours before serving. Having a light sweet taste, as well as a refreshing aroma, this drink is also known as a heat remover aka deep heat reliever and has the properties of natural defecation.
Tourist Visit
Penyengat Island, which is in the Riau Islands group, is apparently frequently visited by tourists from Malaysia and Singapore. This is inseparable from the connection from the historical side of the past, namely the kingdom of Riau-Lingga.
Based on data from the Kepri Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of tourists who visited the province in May 2023 was recorded as 52,430 tourists from Singapore, then as many as 15,647 tourists from Malaysia.
Followed by 4,806 Indian tourists, then 3,854 Chinese tourists, as well as 2,102 visits by Filipino tourists.
The number of tourist visits to Kepri in May 2023 also experienced an increase of 316.7 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
With its beauty and rich history, Pulau Penyengat including the palace complex in it, since October 19, 1995 has been nominated to UNESCO to be made one of the world heritage sites.
Plt. The head of the Riau Islands Provincial Tourism Office (Kepri) Luki Zaiman Prawira also hopes that in the future the island that has been designated as a national cultural reserve will be able to attract more tourists and businessmen.
Penyengat Island has been designated as a National Cultural Heritage Area.
“As a historic island and many literary works, ancient times as the source of our language, the Malay language, one of which is Gurindam 12 and many historical sites,” he said.
With such an important cross-national historical heritage, Pulau Penyengat will become a world-class tourist attraction visited by more and more tourists.
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