Palangka Raya

According to documents from the Dutch East Indies, Pahandut village's existence was discovered by Zacharias Hartman, a Dutch explorer, on his journey around Kahayan and Kapuas River in 1823. This conflicts with the statements that claim the village was previously known under the Sultanate of Banjar, which became a Dutch protectorate under an agreement with Sultan Tahmidullah II in 1787. The region was leased to the Dutch East Indies by Sultan Sulaiman in 1817, and was ceded by Sultan Adam of Banjar under a contract signed on 4 May 1826, written in Dutch on second point which reads in English as:[12][13]

The Fifth article of the contract is hereby declared null and void and shall be replaced by the following, His Highness the Sultan Sleman, relinquishes in full ownership to his entire island of Tatas and the Kween, to the left bank of the Antasjan Kecil, Lewai, Jelai, Sintang, Takjanjauw, Pagatan, and the island of Pulau Laut, Kotta Ringin, Passir, Kute, Barouw and all their dependencies. His Highness furthermore cedes one half of the lands, Pamboean, Mandawi, Sampit, the large and small Dajak, the Becompaij, and Doesoen. On the other hand, the Government will cede half of the lands that the Government has taken possession of at the request of His Highness, and which have belonged to Mr Hare. In particular Molucco, Laut, the Kuroe, Leanangan and all their dependencies up to Tanjong Selatan and to the boundaries of Pagatan and Pasir.

It was integrated into Zuid Ooster Afdeeling in accordance with Bêsluit van den Minister van Staat, Gouverneur-Generaal van Nederlandsch-Indie No. 8 , 27 August 1849. ("Decision of the Minister of State, Governor-General of Netherlands-India No. 8) [14] In 1898, it became part of Afdeeling Dajaklandeen in accordance with Staatblad 1898 No. 178. (Official Gazette 1898 No. 178)[15][16] Dutch rule remained weak in this region and several revolts from native rulers took place, such as under Raden Djaija and Pambakal Sulil in 1849.[17][16] The region saw a conflict over succession and against Dutch rule called the Banjarmasin War. There has been debate about whether the fighting constituted one war or two, with the potential auxiliary war called the "Barito War".[18] The village of Pahandut was also used by German missionaries as an outpost for the region around the Kahayan river. In the Tumbang Anoi Peacemaking Agreement between Dayak tribes in 1894 to end the practice of headhunting, it was noted that Pahandut village consisted of eight longhouses and was inhabited by around 40 families.[19]

Later, during Indonesian National Revolution, there were armed clash within the region between Indonesian nationalists under unit TNI/MN 1001 and Royal Netherlands East Indies Army on 17 January 1946.[18]

The province of Central Kalimantan was established on 23 May 1957. At first, the capital for the Central Kalimantan province was not agreed and it was debated where it should be located. R.T.A. Milono, acting governor of Central Kalimantan, discussed the matter with several native organizations and cultural figures from the region. This however evoked tension from several native tribes and organizations that each wanted their own region to be chosen as capital. On 23 January 1957, a committee to discuss the matter was created, consisting mostly of Dayak cultural figures, in addition to military figures such as Tjilik Riwut and Dutch-descendant architect D.A.W. Van Der Pijl who also later designed the then-proposed new capital of South Kalimantan, Banjarbaru. From the committee's meeting, it was decided that Pahandut village would be the capital to avoid cultural association within tribes in the province, hence avoiding conflicts.[18] At the time, the village only had an estimated population of around 900.[20]

The first pillar in the development of Palangka Raya City was erected by Sukarno, the President of the Republic of Indonesia, on 17 July 1957, marking the inauguration of the monument to the provincial capital of Central Kalimantan in Pahandut.[21] Then, in accordance with Law No. 21 of 1958, Pahandut was renamed to Palangka Raya City, maintaining its status as the provincial seat.[22] The construction of the city was directly led by Tjilik Riwut, whom by then had become governor of the Central Kalimantan province. The city was claimed by him to be "free from colonial legacies". At first however, he was rumoured to be insane by residents of the province for trying to build a city on top of nothingness.[20] It was officially made the capital of Central Kalimantan on 1 January 1960, relocated from temporary seat in Banjarmasin. By late 1962, the city had by this point largely finished construction of basic infrastructure such as schools, government offices, inner city roads, and residential areas, with an estimated 500 buildings having been constructed.[23]

On 23 July 1965, it gained official city status (kotapraja) and formed its own municipal government.[23] The city was constructed with the assistance of Soviet military, especially regarding road construction due to the terrain of the region - dominated by swamps and peat.[24] The road which today is named Jl. Tjilik Riwut, was previously planned to be constructed from the city to Pangkalan Bun and Sampit. This however, was never realized due to 30 September Movement, coup d'état against Sukarno, and subsequent communist purge that followed.[25] Many local workers resigned and abandoned their work due to fear of being accused as communist and the road construction stopped at the town of Tangkiling.[8]

Firefighters during a forest fire in Sebangau National Park

Surrounded by forests and peat land, the city can be heavily affected by haze in the dry season, notably in 2015 and 2019. In 2015, the haze made the sky look yellow and affected road traffic.[26][27]

In 2019, the haze caused several people to evacuate the city.[28][29] Forest fires and haze have been annual threats to the city and the city government formed a special agency to deal with forest fires and haze.[30][31] The city government constructed 23 canals and three retention basins around the city to deal with threat of forest fires in 2019.[32][33]

The city was a candidate to become the new Indonesian capital until the 2019 announcement that the new capital will be in Penajam North Paser Regency and Kutai Kartanegara Regency, both in East Kalimantan.[34][35][36]

Palangka Raya has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round. According to Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, average temperature in Palangka Raya is 27.28 °C (81.10 °F) , with minimum temperature 21.4 °C (70.5 °F), and highest temperature 35.2 °C (95.4 °F). Moisture is between 65 – 95% with yearly average of 82.89%. Wind usually flows between 2 and 22 knots, with yearly average of 5.3 knots. Increase of wind speed is expected in August and November.[37]

Prior to decentralization in 2001, Palangka Raya had two administrative districts, Pahandut and Bukit Batu. As of 2020, Palangka Raya consists of five administrative districts, tabulated below with their areas and population totals from the 2010 Census[49] and from the 2020 Census,[4] together with the official estimates as at mid 2022.[1]

Palangka Raya city hall building

As with all Indonesian cities, it is a second-level administrative division run by a mayor and a vice mayor together with the city parliament, and it is equivalent to a regency.[50] Executive power is vested in the mayor and vice mayor, while legislative duties are vested in the local parliament. The mayor, vice mayor, and parliament members are directly elected by the people of the city in an election.[51] Heads of districts are appointed by the mayor on the recommendation of the city secretary.[52][53]

Palangka Raya is part of 1st Central Kalimantan electoral district in provincial level, together with Katingan Regency and Gunung Mas Regency have representatives of 10 out of 45 in provincial parliament. In city level, Palangka Raya is divided into three electoral districts. City parliament in total has 30 representatives that are democratically elected by people of the city in an election. Jekan Raya District is divided into two in electoral district distribution, with Jekan Raya A consist of Bukit Tunggal and Petuk Katimpun Subdistrict, and Jekan Raya B consist of Menteng and Palangka Subdistrict. Last election was in 2019 and the next one would be in 2024.[54] As Palangka Raya is also provincial capital, it also has governor office and provincial parliament of Central Kalimantan located in the city.

The city is headquarter of Kodim 1016/Palangka Raya inside Korem 102/Panju Pujung, which was historically under Kodam XI/Tambun Bungai but currently is under Kodam XII/Tanjungpura. The unit was created on 9 December 1975 and formalized on 23 March 1976.[55] The unit has one raider battalion attached to it as of 2021, which is Raider Battalion 631st Antang Elang.[56]

Several malls exist in the city, such as Palangka Raya Mall, Mega Town Square, and Barata Departement Store. Palangka Raya Mall is integrated with a hotel named Hotel Neo, which has an interior connection to the mall.[57][58] Construction of the Palangka Raya Trade Center was halted in 2019 because of a land dispute and followed by Supreme Court of Indonesia's rejection of the prosecutor's dispute.[59][60]

According to city media center, Palangka Raya has 63 city parks as of January 2020. These parks scattered in Pahandut, Jekan Raya, and Sebangau District.[61] Cultural events are often held on city park beside Kahayan Bridge.[62] The Sebangau District is home to Sebangau National Park, which was established in 2004.[63][64] The Balanga Museum has collections focused on history of Dayak people and their culture. It was built in 1973 and inaugurated in 1990.[65][66]

The preservation of Dayak culture has been promoted by the provincial government through cultural events and festivals, including the annual Isen Mulang Festival, usually held in May and June.[67][68] Other festivals were later held in 2020 with support of Ministry of Tourism, including those celebrating Malay cultures.[69]

Palangka Raya is home to Kalteng Putra F.C, which as of 2021 competes in Liga 2 after degradation from Liga 1. Its home stadium is Tuah Pahoe Stadium, located in Jekan Raya District. It was expanded in 2019 to increase stadium's capacity, in addition to facility upgrades.[70][71][72][73]

A junior highschool in Palangka Raya

There are 134 kindergartens, 146 elementary schools, 60 junior highschools, 34 senior highschools, and 16 vocational highschools in the city. Palangka Raya is a home to number of universities and higher education institutions. University of Palangka Raya is the only public university in the city and the most notable one in the city. Other higher education institutions are Palangka Raya Christian University, Tampung Penyang Hindu Institute, Palangka Raya Muhammadiyah University, among many others.[74][38][75] School enrollment rate as of 2020 was 99%.[38]

Palangka Raya city has eight hospitals (including two maternity hospitals), five polyclinics, 35 puskesmas, and eight pharmacy. One of the biggest public hospital, Doris Sylvanus Regional Hospital, is owned by provincial government and has been rated by Ministry of Health as B-class hospital. Another public hospital, Palangka Raya Regional Hospital, is owned by city government, and has been classified as D-class.[76][77] Notable private hospital companies such as Siloam Hospitals also exist in the city.[78] The city also has several laboratorium facilities for many purposes, such as disease control, water and food quality check, and animal health laboratory.[79][80][81][82] Life expectancy of the city is 73.19 years, which is significantly higher than national average and the highest in the province.[39][41]

Darussalam Grand Mosque, Palangka Raya

There are exactly 234 mosques, 204 churches, four Hindu temples, and five Chinese Buddhist temples in the city as of 2020.[39][41] The largest mosque in the city, according to Ministry of Religious Affairs, is Darussalam Grand Mosque Palangka Raya. It occupies 50,000 square meters of land and has maximum capacity of 10,000 people. It was built in 1984 and located in Jekan Raya District.[83]

St. Mary's Cathedral, Palangkaraya, a Catholic church, located also in Jekan Raya District. It was inaugurated on 21 March 1999.[84] Hindu temples in the city such as Pura Pitamaha, the biggest out of the four, located also in Jekan Raya District, was constructed by Indonesian Army to help local Hindu population in 1978 and now mostly used by Balinese migrants.[85][86][87][88]