Pakan, Sarawak

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Pakan
Other transcription(s)
   Chinese 巴干
Replica of Buah Pakan at Pakan Entabai road.jpg
Replica of Buah Pakan at Pakan town
East Malaysia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Pakan
Location in Borneo
Coordinates: 1°52′00″N111°41′00″E / 1.86667°N 111.68333°E / 1.86667; 111.68333
CountryFlag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia
State Flag of Sarawak.svg Sarawak
Division Sarikei
District Pakan
Government
  District OfficerEn. Seroji Bin Ludin (2017-Now)
Area
[1]
  Total
924.6 km2 (357.0 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 [2] )
  Total
15,462
  Density16/km2 (40/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+08:00 (MST)
Postal code
96xxx
Website www.sarikei.sarawak.gov.my

Pakan is a small town in Pakan District, Sarikei Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The district population estimates (as of the 2017 census) was 17,600. [3]

Contents

Most of its inhabitants are ethnic Iban people (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.[ citation needed ]

Etymology

The name Pakan was derived from a local fruit resembling durian, named Buah Pakan. It has yellowish skin and flesh. [4] [note 1] The fruit has since become the symbol of the town with its replica built at the junction of Entabai road. [5]

History

In 1911, a man from Guangdong named Wen Ru Zhu (翁如珠) was the first Chinese to arrive in Sarikei. 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 Iban people living there for agricultural products. Apart from Iban longhouses 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. [4] [note 2]

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. [4] [note 3]

Government

Meradong and Julau District Council, Pakan branch Meradong and Julau District Council Pakan branch.jpg
Meradong and Julau District Council, Pakan branch
The Pakan District Office. Pakan district office.jpg
The Pakan District Office.

Since creation of the Sarikei Division in 1973, the Pakan sub-district was put under the jurisdiction of Julau district. On 1 March 2002, the Pakan sub-district was upgraded into a district. [5] The Pakan District covers a total area of 924.6 km2 (357.0 sq mi), [6] administered by Pakan District Office located in the town of Pakan. [5]

Geography

Pakan is located 45 km (28 mi) from the town of Sarikei. [6]

Longhouses

Climate

Pakan has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Climate data for Pakan
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)30.0
(86.0)
30.2
(86.4)
31.2
(88.2)
31.9
(89.4)
32.2
(90.0)
32.0
(89.6)
32.0
(89.6)
31.6
(88.9)
31.6
(88.9)
31.5
(88.7)
31.3
(88.3)
30.7
(87.3)
31.4
(88.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)26.0
(78.8)
26.1
(79.0)
26.8
(80.2)
27.2
(81.0)
27.4
(81.3)
27.1
(80.8)
27.0
(80.6)
26.7
(80.1)
26.9
(80.4)
26.9
(80.4)
26.8
(80.2)
26.4
(79.5)
26.8
(80.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)22.1
(71.8)
22.1
(71.8)
22.4
(72.3)
22.5
(72.5)
22.7
(72.9)
22.3
(72.1)
22.0
(71.6)
21.9
(71.4)
22.2
(72.0)
22.3
(72.1)
22.3
(72.1)
22.1
(71.8)
22.2
(72.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)336
(13.2)
272
(10.7)
291
(11.5)
257
(10.1)
250
(9.8)
181
(7.1)
174
(6.9)
237
(9.3)
280
(11.0)
276
(10.9)
286
(11.3)
364
(14.3)
3,204
(126.1)
Source: Climate-Data.org [7]

Demographics

Ethnicity

Pakan District Ethnic Statistic [8]
Total
Population
Malay Iban Bidayuh Melanau Other
Bumiputera
Chinese Indian Other
Non-Bumiputera
Non-Citizen
15,13912514,4232639136289133553
Ethnic composition in Pakan
Ethnic groupPercent
Iban
95.3%
Chinese
1.9%
Other Bumiputera
0.9%
Malay
0.8%
Non-Citizen
0.4%
Melanau
0.3%
Indian
0.1%

In 2010, Pakan town had a total population of 14,570, where there were 14,023 Iban people, 402 Chinese, 80 Malays, and 65 from other ethnic groups. [4] [note 4]

Places of worship

St Francis Asisi Chapel. St Francis Asisi Chapel, Pakan.jpg
St Francis Asisi Chapel.

Economy

A black pepper plantation near the Pakan road. Another black pepper plantation near the Pakan road.jpg
A black pepper plantation near the Pakan road.

In 2017, Pakan District had 2,000 hectares of pepper farms with 5,800 farmers working on them. [9]

Transport

Local Bus

Route No.Operating RouteOperatorRemark
6Sarikei-PakanBorneo 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

Pakan public health clinic. Pakan public health clinic.jpg
Pakan public health clinic.
SK Nanga Pakan. SK Nanga Pakan.jpg
SK Nanga Pakan.
SMK Pakan. SMK Pakan front gate.jpg
SMK Pakan.

Education

Primary schools
Secondary school

Culture and leisure

Cultural

Upper river of Sg Julau, Pakan-Ulu Kota road. Kerangan Rantau Enjin, Lubok Kelau, Sg Julau..jpg
Upper river of Sg Julau, Pakan-Ulu Kota road.

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. [10]

Historical

Leisure and conservation areas

Notes

  1. Yii, 2010. Page 285
  2. Yii, 2010. Page 285
  3. Yii, 2010. Page 287
  4. Yii, 2010. Page 285

References

  1. "Profail Daerah Pakan". The Official Website of Sarikei Divisional Administration. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  2. Archived 28 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine , Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, Retrieved 28 February 2022
  3. "SARAWAK FACTS & FIGURES". Population By Administrative District. State Planning Unit. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 余(Yii), 悦胜(Yuk Seng) (November 2010). 泗里街省華族史料集 (Collection of historical material on the chinese community in Sarikei Division) (First ed.). Sibu, Sarawak: 砂拉越华族文化协会(Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association). ISBN   978-983-9360-49-3.
  5. 1 2 3 "Pengenalan Pejabat Daerah Pakan (Introduction to Pakan District Office)". Official Portal of Sarikei Divisional Administration. Sarikei Divisional Office. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Profail Daerah Pakan (Pakan District Profile)". The Official Portal of Sarikei Divisional Administration Office. Sarikei Divisional Administration Office. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  7. "Climate: Pakan". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  8. "Total population by ethnic group, sub-district and state, Malaysia, 2010" (PDF). Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  9. "Pepper farmers urged to up production to meet demand". The Borneo Post. 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  10. "Pakan Festival". The official portal of Sarikei Divisional administrative office. Sarikei Divisional Administrative Office. Retrieved 8 November 2017.